Trending With Impact: Age-related Co-morbidities Promoted by HIV-1 Tat Expression in Male Mice

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July 21, 2022

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  • Aging-US published this research paper on July 12, 2022 in Volume 14, Issue 13, entitled, "Age-related neuroendocrine, cognitive, and behavioral co-morbidities are promoted by HIV-1 Tat expression in male mice" by researchers from Department of BioMolecular Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS; Department of Psychiatry, McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA; Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Mississippi, University, MS. DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.204166 Corresponding author - Jason J. Paris - parisj@olemiss.edu Abstract In the U.S. about half of the HIV-infected individuals are aged 50 and older. In men living with HIV, secondary hypogonadism is common and occurs earlier than in seronegative men, and its prevalence increases with age. While the mechanisms(s) are unknown, the HIV-1 trans-activator of transcription (Tat) protein disrupts neuroendocrine function in mice partly by dysregulating mitochondria and neurosteroidogenesis. We hypothesized that conditional Tat expression in middle-aged male transgenic mice [Tat(+)] would promote age-related comorbidities compared to age-matched controls [Tat(−)]. We expected Tat to alter steroid hormone milieu consistent with behavioral deficits. Middle-aged Tat(+) mice had lower circulating testosterone and progesterone than age-matched controls and greater circulating corticosterone and central allopregnanolone than other groups. Young Tat(+) mice had greater circulating progesterone and estradiol-to-testosterone ratios. Older age or Tat exposure increased anxiety-like behavior (open field; elevated plus-maze), increased cognitive errors (radial arm water maze), and reduced grip strength. Young Tat(+), or middle-aged Tat(−), males had higher mechanical nociceptive thresholds than age-matched counterparts. Steroid levels correlated with behaviors. Thus, Tat may contribute to HIV-accelerated aging. Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://aging.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Faging.204166 Keywords - aging, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, secondary hypogonadism, trans-activating transcriptor About Aging-US Launched in 2009, Aging-US publishes papers of general interest and biological significance in all fields of aging research and age-related diseases, including cancer—and now, with a special focus on COVID-19 vulnerability as an age-dependent syndrome. Topics in Aging-US go beyond traditional gerontology, including, but not limited to, cellular and molecular biology, human age-related diseases, pathology in model organisms, signal transduction pathways (e.g., p53, sirtuins, and PI-3K/AKT/mTOR, among others), and approaches to modulating these signaling pathways. Please visit our website at https://www.Aging-US.com​​ and connect with us: SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/Aging-Us Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AgingUS/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/AgingJrnl Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/agingjrnl/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/agingus​ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aging/ Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/AgingUS/ Aging-US is published by Impact Journals, LLC: http://www.ImpactJournals.com​​ Media Contact 18009220957 MEDIA@IMPACTJOURNALS.COM

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