The following is a summary of “Signals From Inflamed Perivascular Adipose Tissue Contribute to Small Vessel Dysfunction in Women Living With the Human Immunodeficiency Virus,” published in the March 2024 issue of Infectious Disease by Wilcox, et al.
Researchers started a retrospective study to investigate whether perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) inflammation in people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (PWH) contributes to microvascular dysfunction.
They dissected subcutaneous small arteries with or without PVAT from a gluteal skin biopsy obtained from 11 women with treated HIV (WWH) aged below 50 and 10 matched women without HIV. The samples were then studied on isometric myographs. Nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were quantified using fluorescence microscopy. Additionally, adipokines, markers of inflammation, and ROS were analyzed in PVAT.
The results showed that PVAT surrounding the small arteries in control women significantly (P<0.05) increased acetylcholine (Ach)-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation and NO production while decreasing contractions to thromboxane and endothelin-1. However, the effects of PVAT were significantly reduced (P<0.05) in WWH, whose PVAT released lower levels of adiponectin but higher levels of markers of ROS and inflammation. The moderation of contractions by PVAT was positively correlated with adipose adiponectin levels.
Investigators concluded that HIV patients’ PVAT showed increased stress, inflammation, and reduced beneficial molecule release, potentially causing small artery dysfunction.
Source: academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiae094/7617594
