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Serum inflammation markers associated with altered brain white matter microstructure in people with HIV on antiretroviral treatment

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Abstract

Background

Many studies have reported reduced brain white matter fractional anisotropy (FA) and increased mean diffusivity (MD) on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of people with HIV (PWH). Few, however, have linked individual blood inflammatory markers with white matter tract-specific FA and MD.

Methods

PWH 50 years old or older from New York, NY, USA, were invited to a cross-sectional study. Demographic data, blood samples, and brain DTI were obtained. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used to examine associations between biomarkers and white matter tract-specific FA and MD. All models included age, sex, race, ethnicity, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, and viral load as control variables.

Results

Seventy-two cases were analyzed. Mean age was 60 ± 6 years, 47% were women, 21% were Hispanic, and 78% were black. All had asymptomatic HIV infection and were on antiretroviral therapy. Eighty-nine percent had CD4 count >200 cell/mm3 and 78% were virally suppressed. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and macrophage inflammatory proteins (MIP) 1β and 1α were consistently associated with lower FA and higher MD across white matter tracts.

Conclusions

Elevated serum VEGF, MIP-1α, and MIP-1β were associated with altered white matter microstructure. These blood biomarkers may help predict HIV-associated white matter damage.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 710 W 168Th Street, 6Th Floor, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Antonio Spagnolo-Allende, Minghua Liu, Kay C. Igwe, Krystal K. Laing, Anthony G. Chesebro, Adam M. Brickman & Jose Gutierrez

  2. School of Nursing, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Rebecca Schnall

  3. Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Rebecca Schnall

  4. Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Adam M. Brickman

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  1. Antonio Spagnolo-Allende
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Correspondence to Jose Gutierrez.

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Spagnolo-Allende, A., Schnall, R., Liu, M. et al. Serum inflammation markers associated with altered brain white matter microstructure in people with HIV on antiretroviral treatment. Neurol Sci 44, 2159–2166 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-023-06613-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-023-06613-2

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