Monoacylglycerol lipase inhibitor JZL184 prevents HIV-1 gp120-induced synapse loss by altering endocannabinoid signaling.

ABSTRACT: Monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL) hydrolyzes 2-arachidonoylglycerol to arachidonic acid and glycerol. Inhibition of MGL may attenuate neuroinflammation by enhancing endocannabinoid signaling and decreasing prostaglandin (PG) production. Almost half of HIV infected individuals are afflicted with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND), a neuroinflammatory disease in which cognitive decline correlates with synapse loss. HIV infected cells shed the envelope protein gp120 which is a potent neurotoxin that induces synapse loss. Here, we tested whether inhibition of MGL, using the selective inhibitor JZL184, would prevent synapse loss induced by gp120. The number of synapses between rat hippocampal neurons in culture was quantified by imaging clusters of a GFP-tagged antibody-like protein that

SUBMITTER: Zhang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5752128 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature