TY - JOUR
T1 - Blood Biomarkers of Neuronal/Axonal and Glial Injury in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders
AU - Rocha, Natalia P.
AU - Teixeira, Antonio L.
AU - Colpo, Gabriela D.
AU - Babicz, Michelle A.
AU - Thompson, Jennifer L.
AU - Woods, Steven Paul
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 S. Karger AG. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/2/1
Y1 - 2023/2/1
N2 - Introduction: Approximately half of the people living with HIV (PLWH) experience HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HANDs). However, the neuropathogenesis of HAND is complex, and identifying reliable biomarkers has been challenging. Methods: This study included 132 participants aged 50 and older from greater San Diego County. The participants were divided into three groups: PLWH with HAND (n = 29), PLWH without HAND (n = 73), and seronegatives without cognitive impairment (n = 30). Peripheral blood was collected at the clinical assessment, and plasma levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), phosphorylated Tau 181 (pTau181), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Plasma levels of NfL (but not pTau181 and GFAP) were significantly associated with HAND at a medium effect size (p = 0.039, Cohen's d = 0.45 for HAND + vs. HAND-). Notably, higher levels of NfL were significantly associated with HAND diagnosis even after adjusting for sex. Discussion: Our data suggest that neuronal degeneration (as evidenced by increased levels of NfL), but not tau pathology or glial degeneration, is related to cognitive status in PLWH. Our results corroborate the view that blood NfL is a promising biomarker of cognitive impairment in PLWH.
AB - Introduction: Approximately half of the people living with HIV (PLWH) experience HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HANDs). However, the neuropathogenesis of HAND is complex, and identifying reliable biomarkers has been challenging. Methods: This study included 132 participants aged 50 and older from greater San Diego County. The participants were divided into three groups: PLWH with HAND (n = 29), PLWH without HAND (n = 73), and seronegatives without cognitive impairment (n = 30). Peripheral blood was collected at the clinical assessment, and plasma levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), phosphorylated Tau 181 (pTau181), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Plasma levels of NfL (but not pTau181 and GFAP) were significantly associated with HAND at a medium effect size (p = 0.039, Cohen's d = 0.45 for HAND + vs. HAND-). Notably, higher levels of NfL were significantly associated with HAND diagnosis even after adjusting for sex. Discussion: Our data suggest that neuronal degeneration (as evidenced by increased levels of NfL), but not tau pathology or glial degeneration, is related to cognitive status in PLWH. Our results corroborate the view that blood NfL is a promising biomarker of cognitive impairment in PLWH.
KW - Biomarkers
KW - HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder
KW - Infectious disease
KW - Neurocognitive disorders
KW - Neurofilament light chain
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U2 - 10.1159/000527659
DO - 10.1159/000527659
M3 - Article
C2 - 36746132
AN - SCOPUS:85148963548
SN - 1420-8008
VL - 51
SP - 467
EP - 474
JO - Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders
JF - Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders
IS - 6
ER -