Abstract
While HIV-1 is primarily an infection of CD4+ T cells, there is an emerging interest in understanding how infections of other cell types can contribute to HIV-associated comorbidities. For HIV-1 to cross from the blood stream into tissues, the virus must come into direct contact with the vascular endothelium, including pericytes, which envelope vascular endothelial cells. Pericytes are multifunctional cells that have been recognized for their essential roles in angiogenesis, vessel maintenance, and blood flow rate. Most importantly, recent evidence has shown that pericytes can be a target of HIV-1 infection and support an active stage of the viral life cycle, with latency also suggested by in vitro data. Given their location and function, BBB pericytes are poised to be a key latent reservoir in the development of HIV-associated comorbidities. This dissertation describes the first comprehensive transcriptional analysis of uninfected, active, and latent human BBB pericytes, revealing distinct transcriptional signatures and providing key insights into the state of viral reservoir maintenance in the CNS during HIV-1 infection.