Loading...
Please wait, while we are loading the content...
Chronic Alcoholism and HHV-6 Infection Synergistically Promote Neuroinflammatory Microglial Phenotypes in the Substantia Nigra of the Adult Human Brain
| Content Provider | MDPI |
|---|---|
| Author | Jain, Nityanand Smirnovs, Mark S. Strojeva, Samanta Murovska, Modra Skuja, Sandra |
| Copyright Year | 2021 |
| Description | 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. |
| Starting Page | 1216 |
| e-ISSN | 22279059 |
| DOI | 10.3390/biomedicines9091216 |
| Journal | Biomedicines |
| Issue Number | 9 |
| Volume Number | 9 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | MDPI |
| Publisher Date | 2021-09-14 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Biomedicines Substance Abuse Microglia Neuroinflammation Chronic Alcoholism Hhv-6 Substantia Nigra |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
