Action of Methamphetamine on Immune System to be Studied

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Researchers at the University at Buffalo have received a $1.7 million grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse to study how methamphetamine disrupts the immune system, increasing susceptibility to HIV among users of the recreational drug.

The five-year research project, headed by Madhavan P.N. Nair, Ph.D., professor of medicine in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, centers on the action of methamphetamine on dendritic cells, which play a key role in the initiation of the immune response.

Discovered in 1973, dendritic cells have been dubbed the "generals of the immune-system army." They are considered promising tools and targets for immunotherapy.

"The U.S. currently is experiencing a serious epidemic of meth use as a recreational drug," said Nair. "It has surpassed cocaine as a street or club drug.

Recent studies show a high prevalence of HIV infection among meth users. Dendritic cells are the first line of defense against HIV infection and are the initial target of the virus in injection drug users.

"The development of HIV infection in meth users and the effects of meth abuse on dendritic cells that could lead to the progression of the disease in this population haven't been examined," Nair said.

Nair and colleagues hypothesize that methamphetamine is a co-factor in the development of HIV infections by acting in synergy with certain HIV proteins to attack dendritic cells, leading to disruption of the immune system. The researchers will investigate several mechanisms by which methamphetamine could interrupt the normal action of these critical cells.

Dendritic cells will be derived from blood samples from participants in four study groups: HIV-positive methamphetamine users; HIV-positive non-methamphetamine users; HIV-negative methamphetamine users; and HIV-negative controls.

The research may lead to novel anti-HIV therapeutic or translational research strategies, said Nair, who has been funded by NIDA since 2002 to investigate the molecular role of opioids and cocaine in HIV development.

Supriya Mahajan, Ph.D., and Donald Sykes, Ph.D., research assistant professors in the UB Department of Medicine, are co-principal investigator and research scientist, respectively, on the project.