Impact of HIV-1 Tat protein on cocaine-dopamine transporter interaction

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) remain highly prevalent in the era of effective antiretroviral therapy. HIV-1 infection within CNS system plays a central role in the development of HAND. Drugs of abuse, such as cocaine, have been shown to increase the incidence and exacerbate the severity of HAND by enhancing viral replication. However, the mechanistic links between cocaine and HAND progression remain undefined. Although changes in many neurotransmitter systems may contribute to HAND, the central dopamine (DA) system plays a crucial role in the development of neurocognitive dysfunction in HAND patients and in the control of psychostimulant action of cocaine. The interplay of HIV-1 Tat protein with cocaine augments synaptic DA level and Tat release within dopaminergic brain regions. Long lasting exposure to elevated DA and Tat eventually lead to DA deficit that potentiates severity and accelerates progression of HAND. Antiretroviral agents cannot prevent the production of HIV-1 viral proteins, such as Tat protein, in proviral-containing brain cells. It is unclear how the DA system is altered in HIV-1 positive cocaine abusers. Therefore, there is a pressing need to define the molecular mechanism(s) by which the impaired DA system by HIV-1 infection affects the progression of HAND in concurrent cocaine abusers. Presynaptic DA transporter (DAT), which is critical for neurocognitive function, is a major molecular target for both Tat and cocaine to impact the DA system. In this application, we hypothesize that Tat, via allosteric binding sites in the DAT, potentiates inhibitory effects of cocaine on DA transport, which is the key to DA system dysfunction occurred in HAND patients. Our proposed experiments will investigate how Tat and cocaine interact with the human DAT through their recognition binding sites on human DAT, thereby leading to dysfunction of the DA system. Our strategy encompasses creating a dynamic 3D computational model to predict potential Tat and cocaine binding pocket residues of human DAT, validating these residues via site-directed mutagenesis, and analyzing the consequent functional changes of the Tat and DAT interaction in neuronal cells and primary neurons. The completion of this application will identify molecular targets on the DAT for developing compounds that specifically block Tat binding site(s) in DAT and stabilize physiological dopaminergic tone, which should be beneficial to the preservation of neurocognitive function in patients with HAND in concurrent cocaine abusers.