How HIV and cocaine affect brain immune cells (microglia)
Official title: Multimodal profiling of microglia during HIV infection and substance use disorder
Funded at University of Pennsylvania · NIH-11369183 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether cocaine helps HIV persist in brain immune cells and causes inflammation in people living with HIV.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pennsylvania NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $744,484 |
| NIH project number | 4R33DA059917-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11369183 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People living with HIV—particularly those with a history of cocaine use or who can provide clinical information or tissue samples—are the most relevant group for this work.
✕Less likely to help
People without HIV or without a history of substance use are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this specific project.
What this research studies
Researchers are using a new lab method called HID-Seq that reads HIV DNA, HIV RNA, and the cell's gene activity from the same brain immune cell. This lets them tell which cells are actively making virus, which carry HIV but are not producing it, and which are uninfected. They will apply this approach to human brain tissues and related models to see whether cocaine exposure increases HIV expression and inflammatory signals in microglia and macrophages. The goal is to link HIV presence in brain immune cells to changes that may underlie neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new targets to improve HIV treatment, protect the brain, and guide therapies for people with HIV who use cocaine.
How similar studies have gone: Single-cell RNA methods have previously revealed infected cell types, but HID-Seq's combined detection of integrated HIV DNA, HIV RNA, and host transcriptome in the same cell is a novel approach that is less-tested in human brain tissue.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Jordan-Sciutto, Kelly L — University of Pennsylvania
- Study coordinator: Jordan-Sciutto, Kelly L
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.