Description:

Title: 

Understanding Amyloid Precursor Protein Processing and Neurotoxic β-amyloid Elevation in HIV-1 Infected Brain

Speaker : Feng Gu, PhD / Postdoctoral Scholar, Naghavi Lab

Host: Mojgan Naghavi, PhD

Abstract:

Until now, around 37.9 million people are living with HIV globally, bringing enormous social and economic burdens. With increasing access to effective prevention and treatments, HIV infection has become a manageable chronic disease, enabling patients’ life span reach normal levels. However, HIV enters the central Nervous system (CNS), leading to a broad spectrum of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). One of the characteristics of HAND is the elevated deposition of neurotoxic β-amyloid (Aβ), a classic hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Aβ is generated by sequential site-specific proteolytic cleavage of Amyloid precursor protein (APP). Our lab is particularly interested in why and how APP is decreased and Aβ is elevated in HIV-1 infected brain. Our most recent work studying these processes will be presented.