Evidence implicating cocaine as a possible risk factor for HIV infection.

Epidemiological evidence regarding the impact of drugs of abuse on HIV disease is mixed but points to a likely association between cocaine use (by different routes) and acquisition of either HIV infection or an AIDS-defining illness. In vitro studies indicate that cocaine increases replication of HIV in both stimulated and unstimulated human peripheral blood monocytes. Recent studies using the huPBL SCID mouse model demonstrate that systemic exposure to cocaine enhances HIV replication and spread in vivo. The huPBL SCID mouse and SCID-hu mouse provide potentially useful models for evaluating the impact of other drugs of abuse on HIV infection and the mechanisms mediating these effects.