Potential roles of microglial cell progranulin in HIV-associated CNS pathologies and neurocognitive impairment.

ABSTRACT: Progranulin (PGRN) is a highly unusual molecule with both neuronal and microglial expression with two seemingly unrelated functions, i.e., as a neuronal growth factor and a modulator of neuroinflammation. Haploinsufficiency due to loss of function mutations lead to a fatal presenile dementing illness (frontotemporal lobar degeneration), indicating that adequate expression of PGRN is essential for successful aging. PGRN might be a particularly relevant factor in the pathogenesis of HIVencephalitis (HIVE) and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). We present emerging data and a review of the literature which show that cells of myeloid lineage such as macrophages and microglia are the primary sources of PGRN and that PGRN expression contributes to pathogenesis of CNS diseases. We als

SUBMITTER: Suh HS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3930627 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature