HIV-1 AND THE DEVELOPING HUMAN NERVOUS-SYSTEM - IN-VIVO AND IN-VITRO ASPECTS

HIV-1 is able to penetrate the developing human central nervous system and induce damage. Clinical and neuropathological observations demons trate that (a) the virus is transmitted during the late phase of pregn ancy or at the time of delivery; (b) the main infected cells within th e brain are macrophages, and (c) the mere presence of infected macroph ages within CNS tissue is not enough to predict disease. Primary cultu res of human embryonic or fetal-CNS and derived cultures highly enrich ed in either astrocytes or microglial cells are useful tools to study the mechanisms of HIV-I-induced neuronotoxicity in which both microgli al cells and astrocytes play important roles.