Cocaine Use May Boost HIV Susceptibility

Cocaine use may increase an individual's vulnerability to HIV infection by increasing the pool of T cells susceptible to the virus, new research suggests.

The researchers from University of California, Los Angeles, found that cocaine renders quiescent CD4 T cells, which are normally refractory to HIV infection, more susceptible to HIV.

"These studies offer us a better understanding of how cocaine influences quiescent CD4 T cells to promote HIV infection and could lead to the development of better interventions in drug-abusing populations," Dimitrios N. Vatakis, PhD, the study's senior author, told Medscape Medical News.

The study is published in the October issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.

"Significant" Implications

Dr. Vatakis and colleagues isolated quiescent CD4 T cells from healthy adults, exposed the cells to cocaine, and then infected the cells with HIV. Following infection, they monitored the progression of the virus' life cycle and compared this progression with that of virus in cells that had not been exposed to cocaine.

Fonte: www.medscape.com