Cannabis Use and Cannabidiol Modulate HIV-Induced Alterations in TREM2 Expression: Implications for Age-Related Neuropathogenesis

The study investigates the modulation of TREM2 and related gene expression in HIV- and HIV+ individuals with varying cannabis use patterns. RNA-seq data were obtained from monocyte-derived macrophages exposed to CBD, IL1B, and CBD+IL1B. This study aims to identify mechanisms by which CBD may alter neuroinflammatory processes relevant to TREM2, aging, and neuropathogenesis in people living with HIV. Overall design: Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) isolation was performed on blood collected from HIV+ and HIV- individuals with different cannabis use patterns. Monocytes were cultured in human-serum-supplemented media and differentiated into monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) over 7 days. Treatments with vehicle, IL1B, cannabidiol (CBD), and CBD+IL1B (C+I) occurred for 6 hours before RNA isolation. This experiment includes gene expression profiling analysis of RNA-seq data from treated MDMs isolated from HIV- Naïve, HIV+ Naïve, HIV+ Moderate, and HIV+ Daily cannabis users.