Single nuclei transcriptome profiling in addiction circuitry of the HIV+ brain

The HIV pandemic continues to pose a global health burden, despite considerable advances in treatment and prevention. Although a large fraction of people with HIV (PWH) are receiving life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART), treatment does not eradicate the virus. An important co-morbidity relevant to HIV neurologic disease is substance use disorder (SUD), with its negative impact on health by a multitude of factors including injectable drug use, risky behaviors and numerous medical and psychiatric sequelae. Notably, HIV and SUD show a striking neuroanatomical convergence onto the dopamine neuron-rich structures in the ventral midbrain. This includes the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra (SN) with the latter broadly important for mediating habitual behaviors and salience... (for more see dbGaP study page.)