Publications by authors named "Omar Velez-Lopez"
Article Synopsis
- HIV-1 infects macrophages that release neurotoxic substances like cathepsin B (CATB), leading to cognitive issues, with cocaine enhancing this effect.
- Treatment with BD1047, a sigma-1 receptor antagonist, prior to cocaine exposure lowers HIV-1 replication and CATB secretion, reducing neuronal cell death.
- Proteomic analysis revealed that BD1047 dysregulated 80 proteins related to HIV-1, CATB, and mitochondrial functions, suggesting it helps protect cells by improving mitochondrial health and reducing neurotoxicity.
Pathogenesis of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) is mediated through the infiltration of perivascular macrophages into the brain with the secretion of viral, neurotoxic and inflammatory proteins. One of these proteins is cathepsin B (CATB), a lysosomal cysteine protease that induces neuronal apoptosis, and increases in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid from HIV-1 infected patients (Cantres-Rosario et al. AIDS 27(3):347-356, 2013).
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