Improved neurocognitive performance in FIV infected cats following treatment with the p75 neurotrophin receptor ligand LM11A-31.

HIV rapidly infects the central nervous system (CNS) and establishes a persistent viral reservoir within microglia, perivascular macrophages and astrocytes. Inefficient control of CNS viral replication by antiretroviral therapy results in chronic inflammation and progressive cognitive decline in up to 50% of infected individuals with no effective treatment options. Neurotrophin based therapies have excellent potential to stabilize and repair the nervous system.

Ethanol suppression of peripheral blood mononuclear cell trafficking across brain endothelial cells in immunodeficiency virus infection.

Earlier studies suggested that the combination of alcohol use and immunodeficiency virus infection resulted in more severe neurologic disease than either condition individually. These deleterious interactions could be due to increased immune cell and virus trafficking or may result from interactions between ethanol and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated toxicity within the brain. To determine the extent to which increased trafficking played a role, we examined the effect of ethanol on the migration of different peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMCs) subsets across a brain endothelial cell monolayer.

Cerebrospinal fluid is an efficient route for establishing brain infection with feline immunodeficiency virus and transfering infectious virus to the periphery.

Like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) invades and infects the central nervous system (CNS) soon after peripheral infection. The appearance of viral RNA is particularly prominent in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), suggesting an efficient route of virus transfer across the blood-CSF barrier. This raises the concern whether this route can establish a stable viral reservoir and also be a source of virus capable of reseeding peripheral systems.

Cerebrospinal fluid centesis at the cerebellomedullary cistern of kittens.

We needed an effective technique for obtaining cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from young (2- to 18-week-old) kittens. Standard veterinary technique was not suitable, so we adapted a previously published technique for rats. We first established an effective isoflurane-only anesthetic protocol for young kittens.