CSF concentrations of soluble TREM2 as a marker of microglial activation in HIV-1 infection
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Updated: Jan 31, 2026
Author Spotlight: Exploring the Role of Unfolded Protein Response in HIV-1 Replication and Infectivity
Published on: June 14, 2024
Magnus Gisslén1, Amanda Heslegrave1, Elena Veleva1
1Department of Infectious Diseases (M.G., A.Y., L.-M.A., L.H.), Institute of Biomedicine, the Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Molecular Neuroscience (A.H., E.V., H.Z.), UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square; UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL (A.H., E.V., H.Z.), London, United Kingdom; Department of Neurology and Center for Neuroepidemiology and Clinical Neurological Research (S.S.), Yale University, New Haven, CT; Division of Biological Chemistry (D.F.), Biocenter, Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria; Department of Neurology (R.W.P.), University of California San Francisco; Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory (H.Z.), Sahlgrenska University Hospital; and Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry (H.Z.), Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.
Objective:
To explore changes in CSF sTREM2 concentrations in the evolving course of HIV-1 infection.
Methods:
In this retrospective cross-sectional study, we measured concentrations of the macrophage/microglial activation marker sTREM2 in CSF samples from 121 HIV-1-infected adults and 11 HIV-negative controls and examined their correlations with other CSF and blood biomarkers of infection, inflammation, and neuronal injury.
Results:
CSF sTREM2 increased with systemic and CNS HIV-1 disease severity, with the highest levels found in patients with HIV-associated dementia (HAD). In untreated HIV-1-infected patients without an HAD diagnosis, levels of CSF sTREM2 increased with decreasing CD4+ T-cell counts. CSF concentrations of both sTREM2 and the neuronal injury marker neurofilament light protein (NFL) were significantly associated with age. CSF sTREM2 levels were also independently correlated with CSF NFL. Notably, this association was also observed in HIV-negative controls with normal CSF NFL. HIV-infected patients on suppressive antiretroviral treatment had CSF sTREM2 levels comparable to healthy controls.
Conclusions:
Elevations in CSF sTREM2 levels, an indicator of macrophage/microglial activation, are a common feature of untreated HIV-1 infection that increases with CD4+ T-cell loss and reaches highest levels in HAD. The strong and independent association between CSF sTREM2 and CSF NFL suggests a linkage between microglial activation and neuronal injury in HIV-1 infection. CSF sTREM2 has the potential of being a useful biomarker of innate CNS immune activation in different stages of untreated and treated HIV-1 infection.
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