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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Viral Immunology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1452532

Unveiling Neuroimmunology Profile of Immunological Non-Responders in HIV: A Multimodal MRI Approach

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 Center for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
  • 2 Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
  • 3 Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    People living with HIV (PLWH), especially immunological non-responders (INRs), may experience adverse neurologic events. However, the extent of neurological impairment in INRs remains uncertain. This study evaluates brain structure and function, immune dysregulation, and peripheral immunomarkers in INRs and immunological responders (IRs) among PLWH, classified according to immunological response criteria, within a clinical research setting. This study utilized multi-modal MRI to assess brain structure and function in INRs (n = 25) and IRs (n = 53). Mass cytometry and Luminex/ELISA assays were employed to analyze peripheral blood monocytes, T cell subpopulations, cytokines, chemokines, neurotrophic factors, and endocrine factors.. Neuroimaging findings revealed notable changes in brain structure and function in INRs, including increased fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and regional homogeneity in the left middle temporal gyrus, as well as decreased grey matter volume in the left middle temporal gyrus, left lingual gyrus, and right rolandic operculum. Furthermore, INRs exhibited significant alterations in functional connectivity in the temporal and occipital gyrus. Mass cytometry analysis demonstrated significant immune dysregulation in INRs, characterised by increased levels of senescent and activated T cells, and heightened monocyte activation. Additionally, noteworthy associations were found between neurological abnormalities and peripheral levels of immunomarkers, inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, neurotrophic factors, and endocrine factors in INRs. These findings underscore the associations between immune dysfunction and changes in brain structure and function, emphasizing the importance of further investigations in this field.

    Keywords: immunological non-responders, Multimodal magnetic resonance, neuroimmune, Humanimmunodeficiencyvirus, Mass cytometory

    Received: 21 Jun 2024; Accepted: 27 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Ji, Zheng, Cai, Sun, Ma, Zhang, Chen, Zhang, Lin, Li and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xiao Lin, Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
    Zhen Li, Center for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
    Tong Zhang, Center for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.