N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate connects neuroinflammatory signatures to attention and working memory in people with HIV.

Despite viral suppression, many people with HIV (PWH) experience persistent cognitive difficulties. We previously demonstrated that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate (NAAG) was associated with spatial attention and working memory. Here, we report that CSF NAAG also correlates with an inflammatory signature (M-CSF, IL-15, MCP-1, sCD40L, IL-18, MMP-9) that relates to spatial attention and working memory. These results suggest that CSF NAAG may serve as an immunomodulatory biomarker relevant to cognition in PWH.