Semisynthetic sphingoglycolipid LIGA20 is neuroprotective against human immunodeficiency virus-gp120-mediated apoptosis.

Apoptosis and neuronal atrophy are commonly seen in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in the late phase of infection. The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120 has been suggested to be a causal agent of neuronal loss. Therefore, blocking gp120 neurotoxicity may be an effective way to reduce the neuronal degeneration seen in HIV patients. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) prevents gp120-mediated apoptosis in cerebellar granule cells. However, BDNF poorly crosses the blood-brain barrier and therefore may not be a suitable therapy for HIV patients. LIGA20 is a semisynthetic sphingoglycolipid that may be a valid alternative to BDNF. In fact, it has been shown that LIGA20 mimics the neuroprotective properties of BDNF. The present study was undertaken to characterize the relative potency of LIGA20 to antagonize gp120-mediated apoptosis. Cerebellar granule cells were exposed to gp120IIIB (5 nM) or stromal-cell derived factor-1 (SDF), the natural ligand for the CXCR4 receptor to which gp120 binds, alone or in combination with LIGA20 (5 microM), and cell death/survival was determined 12 and 24 hr later by various markers of apoptosis. LIGA20 blocked the neurotoxic effect of gp120 and SDF. The neurotrophic effect of LIGA20 was reversed by K252a, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor used to block TrkB signaling, suggesting the involvement of TrkB activation. These findings provide the rationale for exploring the ability of compounds that mimic BDNF activity to reduce neuronal cell death in HIV-1-positive patients.