AUTHOR=Bertrand Sarah , Hu Calvin , Aksenova Marina , Mactutus Charles , Booze Rosemarie TITLE=HIV-1 Tat and cocaine mediated synaptopathy in cortical and midbrain neurons is prevented by the isoflavone Equol JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology VOLUME=6 YEAR=2015 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00894 DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2015.00894 ISSN=1664-302X ABSTRACT=
Illicit drugs, such as cocaine, are known to increase the likelihood and severity of HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). In the current studies synaptic integrity was assessed following exposure to low concentrations of the HIV-1 viral protein Tat 1-86B, with or without cocaine, by quantifying filamentous actin (F-actin) rich structures (i.e., puncta and dendritic spines) on neuronal dendrites