This $1,537,749 Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), aims to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which HIV and methamphetamine exposure activate the astrocyte-specific NLRP6 inflammasome, leading to neuroinflammation and associated neurological disorders in people living with HIV ("NeuroHIV"). The research utilizes in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo approaches to elucidate the role of the...
This federal Project Grant award, totaling $983,672.00 and spanning from September 30, 2024 to July 31, 2027, is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279). The award will support research at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to characterize the in-situ interactions between HIV, methamphetamine use, and the central nervous system (CNS) in people living with HIV. The researchers will leverage a unique...
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded a $777,398 Project Grant under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) to Boston University Medical Campus to investigate the mechanisms of persistent inflammasome activation in myeloid cells related to HIV infection and opioid use disorder. The research, led by the principal investigator at Boston University, will utilize primary human iPSC-derived microglia cultures to examine how HIV infection and opioid exposure impact...
This federal Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), provides $1,429,566 to the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) to conduct a comprehensive investigation on the individual and combined impact of HIV and opioids on inflammasome-mediated neuroinflammation and neurotoxicity. The research aims to uncover the mechanistic intersection between HIV and opioids that heightens inflammation, offering...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), provides $234,000.00 to Georgetown University to study the effects of opioids on HIV transcription and latency. The research aims to understand how opioids influence the progression of HIV in the central nervous system, including the mechanisms by which opioids may reactivate latent HIV reservoirs in the brain. The project utilizes a novel dual...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), provides $1,411,610 in funding to the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) to investigate the combined effects of HIV Tat protein and opioids on glial-neuronal interactions, with a focus on the role of extracellular microRNAs. The research aims to elucidate how HIV and opioid co-morbidity exacerbates synaptic injury and dysfunction, and to...
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the Department of Health and Human Services, awarded a $2,035,194 Project Grant under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) to Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science in North Chicago, Illinois. The grant supports research to characterize the mechanisms by which a positive allosteric modulator of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, PNU-120596, can provide neuroprotection against HIV Tat protein...
This $3,469,296 Project Grant was awarded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the federal Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279). The grant supports research to determine the effects of methamphetamine on inflammasome activation and T cell dysfunction during HIV infection, and to examine the therapeutic potential of targeting autophagy to reduce inflammasome activation and restore T cell function. Specific aims include investigating the impact of...
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded Emory University a 5-year, $1,481,760 Project Grant under the CFDA 93.279 Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs to study how methamphetamine use impacts inflammation, immune dysfunction, and HIV reservoir activation in people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy. The key objectives of this project are to: 1) determine if methamphetamine exposure leads to inflammasome activation and inflammation, 2) assess whether methamphetamine confers...
This federal Project Grant award, valued at $263,119 and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), is focused on developing NLRP3 inhibitors to address HIV-associated neuroinflammation in individuals with cocaine use. The key objectives of this grant are to: 1) computationally design and synthesize analogues of a lead compound, AMS-17, to improve its biological activity and maintain low toxicity; and 2) screen the...
This is a Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279). The $3,472,327 grant, awarded on May 15, 2024, will support a 5-year research project entitled "The Impact of Poly-Substance Use on the Crosstalk between Microglia, Astrocytes, and Neurons that Regulates HIV Latency." The project, led by Case Western Reserve University, aims to investigate how the combined use of methamphetamine and opioids disrupts the signaling between different brain cells, leading to the reactivation of latent HIV and increased neuronal damage. The research will utilize newly developed methods to derive authentic human microglia, astrocytes, and neurons from induced pluripotent stem cells and study their responses to HIV and poly-substance exposure in various cell culture models. The goal is to define the underlying molecular mechanisms, which can inform the development of effective anti-inflammatory strategies to ameliorate HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders in the context of poly-substance use.