Cocaine induced downregulation of miR-125b enhances HIV-1 replication.

<p>We carried out single cycle replication assay to evaluate modulation of HIV-1 replication by cocaine. For this experiment we used a T cell line SupT1 that expresses miR-125b. (<b>A</b>) Cocaine treatment substantially downregulated miR-125b in SupT1 cells as determined by real time PCR. Pseudotyped HIV-1 virions with RFP reporter were used to infect SupT1 cells and HIV-1 replication was measured by detecting RFP expression by FACS 48–72 hr post infection. (<b>B</b>) RFP expression of uninfected cells. HIV-1 replication was measured in the absence (<b>C</b>) and presence (<b>D</b>) of cocaine. (<b>E</b>) Relative RFP expression from three independent experiments. Cocaine treatment resulted in increased RFP expression implying enhanced HIV-1 replication. Data are representative of three independent experiments conducted in triplicates.