# URBAN ARCH 4/5 Russia Cohort-Targeting HIV-comorbidities with Pharmacotherapy to Reduce Alcohol and Tobacco Use in HIV-infected Russians

> **NIH NIH U01** · BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · $186,966

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
Over 4,000,000 people worldwide are infected with COVID19 and cases are rising. Acute respiratory infections
(e.g., Severe Acute Respiratory Virus), are associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, and
early data indicate that COVID19 is associated with higher CVD risk. People living with HIV (PLWH) also have
increased CVD risk compared to uninfected people and this risk is highest among those who are
hazardous drinkers and smokers. Our research is designed to reduce CVD risk among these high risk
PLWH and to elucidate key mechanism(s). St PETER HIV (U01AA020780) is a randomized controlled trial in
St. Petersburg, Russia comparing the effects of nicotinic partial agonists on alcohol consumption, smoking,
and inflammation and CVD risk among PWLH who are heavy drinkers and smokers. The Alcohol associated
Comorbidity and Microbiome Evaluation (ACME ½ U01AA026222) study, nested within St PETER HIV,
examines the gut microbiome as a novel pathway for increased CVD risk among these PLWH. HIV infection
and hazardous drinking both cause microbial translocation, which increases systemic inflammation and leads
to CVD. Whether COVID19 co-infection among PLWH who drink and smoke increases inflammation,
alters the gut microbiome (i.e., reduces beneficial butyrate-producing bacteria which protect the gut
from microbial translocation) and by extension alters the plasma metabolome (e.g., reduces plasma
butyrate levels) is unknown. Sparse data describe the prevalence of COVID19 among PLWH who are heavy
drinkers and smokers, and no data exist assessing the association between COVID19 and biomarker levels of
inflammation and the plasma metabolome (e.g., butyrate) in this population. Our overarching hypothesis is
that COVID19 is a CVD risk factor among heavy drinking and smoking PLWH. For this application, we
hypothesize that COVID19 infection will be: (1) common among St PETER HIV participants; (2) associated
with increased inflammation (e.g., higher IL-6); and (3) associated with an unfavorable metabolomic profile
(i.e., lower plasma butyrate) as compared to those not infected with COVID19. To test our hypotheses, we will
leverage existing data from and collect new data among St PETER HIV and ACME 1/2 participants including
alcohol measures using the timeline follow-back; biomarkers of inflammation, data on comorbid conditions,
longitudinal stored blood and fecal samples and imaging data. New data will include: COVID19 survey items
and testing, alcohol and smoking data, and inflammatory/metabolomic biomarker testing. We will leverage
these data to complete Aim 1: to describe and estimate prevalence of COVID19 infection in the St PETER HIV
cohort; Aim 2: to determine the association between COVID19 infection and biomarkers of systemic
inflammations; and Aim 3 (exploratory) to determine metabolic profiles among heavy drinking and smoking
PLWH. Completing these aims will advance understanding of COVID19 effects on innate immu...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10204251
- **Project number:** 3U01AA020780-10S1
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** MATTHEW S FREIBERG
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $186,966
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2011-09-20 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10204251

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10204251, URBAN ARCH 4/5 Russia Cohort-Targeting HIV-comorbidities with Pharmacotherapy to Reduce Alcohol and Tobacco Use in HIV-infected Russians (3U01AA020780-10S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10204251. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*