LSUHSC-NO Comprehensive Alcohol-HIV/AIDS Research Center (CARC)

The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans (LSUHSC-NO) Comprehensive Alcohol-HIV/AIDS Research Center (CARC) is a multi-institutional, multidisciplinary team of scientists with a research focus on the impact of alcohol use disorder (AUD) on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease and age-related comorbidities. The translational studies are conducted in a longitudinal cohort of in-care, virally-suppressed persons with HIV (PWH; N≈400) together with an age- and sex-matched HIV-seronegative cohort, and focus on integration of environmental (neighborhood) and behavioral (diet, alcohol, and other substance use) factors that increase risk of comorbidities. Moreover, studies proposed will examine the impact of behavioral and pharmacological interventions respectively aimed at reducing alcohol use and related co-morbidities, and improving bioenergetics at the immune, metabolic, and nervous system levels. Our translational approach builds on relevant findings from studies in the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected nonhuman primate (NHP) that reveal the deleterious consequences of chronic alcohol despite viremic control: specifically, gut dysbiosis and leak promoting chronic immune activation, and senescence. An Administrative Core provides administrative and fiscal oversight, supports data management and statistical analysis, and promotes novel and innovative research investigations through the development of new pilot projects. Four Research Components (RCs) test hypotheses in our human longitudinal cohort complemented by mechanistic (whole body, organ, and cellular) longitudinal studies in CBA treated SIV+/- NHPs fed a high fat-high sucrose (a.k.a. Western) diet randomized to metformin+/-. Proposed studies introduce a behavioral and pharmacological intervention to evolve, expand, and refine our mechanistic bidirectional (NHP‒PWH‒NHP) approach. RC1 focuses on the impact of environmental and interpersonal stress, anxiety, depression, and AUD on risk for comorbidities. RC2 examines the mechanisms underlying alcohol-associated risk for age-related comorbidities. RC3 focuses on the impact of AUD on biobehavioral mechanisms associated with neurological comorbidities, specifically pain and cognitive deficits. RC4 expands on the mechanisms underlying alcohol-mediated alterations in immunosenescent T cells. The Experimental and Analytical Core provides oversight for the preclinical and clinical longitudinal studies, biospecimen collection, processing, and analysis. An Information Dissemination Core promotes training and accelerates the translation and dissemination of CARC research findings to current and future health care providers and individuals at high risk for HIV and AUD. The CARC will continue to leverage and synergize with existing institutional resources. Our access to a unique population of PWH in a southeast urban region, established expertise in biomedical and behavioral research, state-of-the-art research facilities, outstanding scientific environment, and strong institutional support will ensure that the proposed projects will continue to advance our collective understanding of the consequences of alcohol use in PWH.