The Use of CBD and HU308 in HIV-1 Infected cells and their response to M1

Abstract

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is a lifelong retrovirus that has no current cure, however with combine antiretroviral therapy (cART) the progression of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) can be prevented. Because of cART treatment, those with HIV-1 infections, lives have been extended, but with longstanding HIV-1 infection, the development of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) becomes an issue, leaving lifelong ailments for those who suffer from the infection. Other research has previously shown that CBD can reduce viral proteins and viral RNA along with EVs released from the Myeloid cells, furthermore, CBD has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects on multiple inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Here we’re testing CBD and its synthetic analog HU308 to test the outputted macrophage markers to see if they activate macrophages to the M1 state. Extracellular vesicles were collected from HIV-1 infected monocytes, then were treated with HU308 or CBD, placed on uninfected monocyte differentiated macrophages. We analyzed recipient cells for M1 cell receptors, along with M1 cytokine mRNA from recipient cells treated with extracellular vesicles. The data showed that the 2k subpopulation from HIV-1-infected myeloid cells when treated with either CBD or HU308 decreased the amount of pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA IL-1β released from recipient cells. This data along with previous data showing a decrease in proinflammatory cytokine with cannabinoid indicated that CBD or HU308 could be a potential benefit to current cART in the prevention of HAND.