The HIV and SIV Nef protein, a progression factor in AIDS pathology, can be transferred by microvesicles including exosomes and tunneling nanotubes (TNT) within the host even to uninfected cells, and Nef can induce CCL2 expression.
The level of MCP-1 is increased in AIDS patients with neurologic problems, through recruitment of inflammatory cells, which can contribute to neuropathogenesis of AIDS.
The importance of HIV DNA and MCP1 SNP has been suggested to be independently important in progression to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and neurocognitive impairment in adults.
To further investigate the correlation between CCL2 and HIV/SIV CNS disease, the authors sequenced the CCL2 promoter of 29 pigtailed macaques examined in their accelerated and consistent SIV model in which all infected macaques develop AIDS but only 69% developed moderate/severe CNS lesions.