Projects per year
Abstract
Both chronic alcoholism and human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) infection have been identified as promoters of neuroinflammation and known to cause movement-related disorders. Substantia Nigra (SN), the dopaminergic neuron-rich region of the basal ganglia, is involved in regulating motor function and the reward system. Hence, we hypothesize the presence of possible synergism between alcoholism and HHV-6 infection in the SN region and report a comprehensive quantification and characterization of microglial functions and morphology in postmortem brain tissue from 44 healthy, age-matched alcoholics and chronic alcoholics. A decrease in the perivascular CD68+ microglia in alcoholics was noted in both the gray and white matter. Additionally, the CD68+/Iba1- microglial subpopulation was found to be the dominant type in the controls. Conversely, in alcoholics, dystrophic changes in microglia were seen with a significant increase in Iba1 expression and perivascular to diffuse migration. An increase in CD11b expression was noted in alcoholics, with the Iba1+/CD11b- subtype promoting inflammation. All the controls were found to be negative for HHV-6 whilst the alcoholics demonstrated HHV-6 positivity in both gray and white matter. Amongst HHV-6 positive alcoholics, all the above-mentioned changes were found to be heightened when compared with HHV-6 negative alcoholics, thereby highlighting the compounding relationship between alcoholism and HHV-6 infection that promotes microglia-mediated neuroinflammation.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 1216 |
Journal | Biomedicines |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Sept 2021 |
Keywords*
- Chronic alcoholism
- HHV-6
- Microglia
- Neuroinflammation
- Substantia Nigra
Field of Science*
- 3.3 Health sciences
- 5.1 Psychology
- 3.1 Basic medicine
Publication Type*
- 1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Chronic Alcoholism and HHV-6 Infection Synergistically Promote Neuroinflammatory Microglial Phenotypes in the Substantia Nigra of the Adult Human Brain'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
-
The role of human herpesvirus-6 infection and alcohol abuse in the development of neuroinflammation
Skuja, S., Strojeva, S., Svirskis, Š., Blūms, D., Starta, G., Garnizone, M. & Jain, N.
1/12/20 → 31/12/21
Project: Fundamental and Applied Research Programme