Abstract
We examined the effects of a xanthine derivative, propentofylline, on TNFa production by glial cells and on infection of glial cells with a murine leukemia virus, LP-BM5, which induces murine AIDS in susceptible mice. Propentofylline suppressed TNFa production in glial cells and also effectively suppressed infection of glial cells with LP-BM5 in vitro. Addition of TNFa, but not IL-1 or IL-6, abolished the suppressive effects of propentofylline. Anti-TNFa antibody also suppressed infection of LP-BM5 in these cells. These findings suggest that propentofylline suppressed LP-BM5 infection in glial cells by suppressing TNFa production by these cells. Because propentofylline reportedly passes through the blood-brain barrier, it may be useful in the treatment of central nervous system involvement by HIV infection or neurological diseases in which TNFa plays a causative role, such as multiple sclerosis.