Chemical liberated by leaky gut may allow HIV to infect the brain

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BBB breakdown: The slide at left below shows a brain section of a control (non-HIV-infected) mouse following exposure to LPS. Proteins (stained yellow) lining the BBB exhibit some breaks but are relatively uncompromised. Slide at right shows a brain ...
BBB breakdown: The slide at left, below, shows a brain section of a control (non-HIV-infected) mouse following exposure to LPS. Proteins (stained yellow) lining the BBB exhibit some breaks but are relatively uncompromised. Slide at right shows a brain section of a transgenic mouse (systemically infected with HIV) following exposure to LPS. Here the combination of HIV infection and LPS exposure has severely fragmented the proteins lining the BBB. Credit: Albert Einstein College of Medicine
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In up to 20 percent of people infected with HIV, the virus manages to escape from the bloodstream and cross into the brain, resulting in HIV-associated dementia and other cognitive disorders. Now, scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found strong evidence that a component of the cell walls of intestinal bacteria—a chemical present in high levels in the blood of HIV-infected people—helps HIV to penetrate the usually-impregnable blood brain barrier (BBB). The findings, published in the August issue of the Journal of Virology, could lead to strategies for preventing HIV from entering the brain and causing serious complications.


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