HIV-Induced Hyperactivity of Striatal Neurons Is Associated with Dysfunction of Voltage-Gated Calcium and Potassium Channels at Middle Age

Despite combination antiretroviral therapy, HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) occur in ~50% of people living with HIV (PLWH), which are associated with dysfunction of the corticostriatal pathway. The mechanism by which HIV alters the neuronal activity in the striatum is unknown. The goal of this study is to reveal the dysfunction of striatal neurons in the context of neuroHIV during aging. Using patch-clamping electrophysiology, we evaluated the functional activity of medium spiny neurons (MSNs), including firing, Ca(2+) spikes mediated by voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels (VGCCs), and K(+) channel-mediated membrane excitability, in brain slices containing the dorsal striatum (a.k.a. the caudate-putamen) from 12-month-old (12mo) HIV-1 transgenic (HIV-1 Tg) rats. We also assessed the protein expression of voltage-gated Ca(v)1.2/Ca(v)1.3 L-type Ca(2+) channels (L-channels), NMDA receptors (NMDAR, NR2B subunit), and GABA(A) receptors (GABA(A)Rs, β(2,3) subunit) in the striatum. We found that MSNs had significantly increased firing in 12mo HIV-1 Tg rats compared to age-matched non-Tg control rats. Unexpectedly, Ca(2+) spikes were significantly reduced, while K(v) channel activity was increased, in MSNs of HIV-1 Tg rats compared to non-Tg ones. The reduced Ca(2+) spikes were associated with an abnormally increased expression of a shorter, less functional Ca(v)1.2 L-channel form, while there was no significant change in the expression of NR2Bs or GABA(A)Rs. Collectively, the present study initially reveals neuroHIV-induced dysfunction of striatal MSNs in 12mo-old (middle) rats, which is uncoupled from VGCC upregulation and reduced K(v) activity (that we previously identified in younger HIV-1 Tg rats). Notably, such striatal dysfunction is also associated with HIV-induced hyperactivity/neurotoxicity of glutamatergic pyramidal neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) that send excitatory input to the striatum (demonstrated in our previous studies). Whether such MSN dysfunction is mediated by alterations in the functional activity instead of the expression of NR2b/GABA(A)R (or other subtypes) requires further investigation.