miRNAs cargo in extracellular vesicles and their ability to induce immunosenescence in patients living with HIV

• Grant number: 22/04593-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: October 01, 2022
• End date: September 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Cellular Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Fabiani Gai Frantz
• Grantee: Ricardo Cardoso Castro
• Supervisor: Kenneth W. Witwer
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Johns Hopkins University (JHU), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 19/11422-0 - Study of immunological and epigenetic markers of extracellular vesicles and their ability to induce early immunosenescence related to HIV infection, BP.DR

Abstract

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is considered a major public health problem worldwide. More recent data made available by the World Health Organization (WHO) has shown that in 2020, about 37.7 million people are living with HIV worldwide. With the emergence of antiretroviral therapy (ART), the infection was no longer considered a lethal disease and acquired a profile of chronicity. Given this, over the years it has been observed that people living with HIV (PLWH) have presented a systemic and chronic inflammatory profile that can favor the process of immune dysfunction and consequently provide immunological senescence. Interestingly, studies have already shown that miRNAs present in extracellular vesicles (EVs) participate in and regulate processes that govern cellular senescence and consequently influence aging. Considering the biological and functional aspects between EVs and miRNAs, the objective of this work is to investigate the presence of immunosenescence-associated miRNAs in samples of EVs isolated from plasma and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of PLWH and to assess the ability of these Specific miRNAs induce immunosenescence of PBMCs from healthy subjects. In this way, this study will contribute to the understanding of mechanisms related to immunosenescence during HIV infection and will help in the search for new molecular targets and biomarkers aimed at reducing systemic inflammation in PLWH. (AU)