Key Immune System Cell Reduces Secretion Of Defense Protein In HIV-associated Dementia Patients

Researchers at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center and UCSF have discovered that an important protein normally secreted by macrophages, the scavenger cells of the immune system, is secreted at significantly reduced levels in patients with HIV-related dementia. The protein, known as lysozyme, is an anti-viral, anti-bacterial enzyme found in human monocytes (which differentiate into macrophages), which circulate in the blood stream but migrate as macrophages to the brain and other organs to fight infection.