# Acute Neural and Immune Effects of Alcohol in People Living with HIV Infection

> **NIH NIH P20** · BROWN UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $267,358

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT 
HIV infection and heavy alcohol use independently cause inflammation in systemic and neural immune 
systems through multiple mechanisms. Both HIV and alcohol induce microbial translocation from the gut, 
systemic immune activation, compromise of the blood-brain barrier, and neuroinflammation. Because 15% of 
people living with HIV (PLWH) report heavy drinking in the past 30 days, the potential for alcohol to exacerbate 
immunological and neural dysfunction in HIV is a serious public health concern. Observational research links 
alcohol use in PLWH to brain abnormalities, cognitive impairment, and increased mortality. However, direct 
experimental evidence on alcohol-HIV interactions in humans is scarce. COBRE CADRE Research Project 1 
(RP1) will investigate whether alcohol use in the context of HIV infection exacerbates inflammatory signaling in 
the peripheral immune system and central nervous system. Specifically, the study will examine acute effects of 
moderate alcohol consumption on immune biomarkers, neurometabolites, brain white matter, and cognition in 
PLWH and healthy controls. We will recruit 48 moderate drinkers who differ on HIV serostatus (24 seropositive 
individuals, 24 seronegative matched controls) to participate in controlled beverage administration and 
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Participants will be randomized to consume placebo (0 g alcohol/kg body 
weight) or alcoholic beverage (.60 g/kg; target blood alcohol=.07g/dL). Blood samples will be taken at baseline 
and for 3 hours after beverage consumption and assayed for plasma biomarkers of microbial translocation, 
monocyte/macrophage activation, and cytokine response. The plasma ratio of kynurenine to tryptophan will be 
used as a measure of immune activation relevant to HIV and drinking behavior. Cognition and subjective 
intoxication will be assessed during the experiment using the standardized measures from the COBRE Clinical 
Laboratory Core. MRI scans will be collected on the descending limb of alcohol and will focus on correlates of 
neuroinflammation, including: 1) neurometabolites (choline, Glx, glutathione) in thalamus and frontal white 
matter, using MR spectroscopy; 2) white matter diffusivity and extracellular free water, using diffusion-weighted 
imaging (DWI). We hypothesize that alcohol will induce greater pro-inflammatory effects in PLWH, relative to 
controls, 1) in the peripheral immune system, as reflected in plasma biomarker perturbations and tryptophan 
degradation; 2) in the brain, as reflected in neurometabolic changes, diffusivity alterations, and increased 
extracellular water. An exploratory aim tests the prediction that PLWH will show greater subjective intoxication 
and cognitive impairment in the alcohol condition. The interdisciplinary research team and mentors have 
experience and expertise in biobehavioral alcohol-HIV research to enable successful completion of this project. 
RP1 aligns with the overarching COBRE CADRE...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10489384
- **Project number:** 5P20GM130414-04
- **Recipient organization:** BROWN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Mollie A Monnig
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $267,358
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10489384

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10489384, Acute Neural and Immune Effects of Alcohol in People Living with HIV Infection (5P20GM130414-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10489384. Licensed CC0.

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