Research Article

Transplacentally exposed human and monkey newborn infants show similar evidence of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-induced mitochondrial toxicity†

  1. Rao L. Divi1,
  2. Sarah L. Leonard1,
  3. Maryanne M. Kuo1,
  4. Kunio Nagashima2,
  5. Chandrasekhar Thamire3,
  6. Marisa C. St. Claire4,
  7. Nancy A. Wade5,
  8. Vernon E. Walker6,
  9. Miriam C. Poirier1,*

Article first published online: 14 MAR 2006

DOI: 10.1002/em.20201

Issue

Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis

Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis

Volume 48, Issue 3-4, pages 201–209, April - May 2007

Additional Information

How to Cite

Divi, R. L., Leonard, S. L., Kuo, M. M., Nagashima, K., Thamire, C., St. Claire, M. C., Wade, N. A., Walker, V. E. and Poirier, M. C. (2007), Transplacentally exposed human and monkey newborn infants show similar evidence of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-induced mitochondrial toxicity. Environ. Mol. Mutagen., 48: 201–209. doi: 10.1002/em.20201

Author Information

  1. 1

    Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD

  2. 2

    NCI-Frederick, SAIC, Frederick, MD

  3. 3

    Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland,College Park, MD

  4. 4

    Bioqual Incorporated, Rockville, MD

  5. 5

    Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY

  6. 6

    Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM

*Carcinogen-DNA Interactions Section, National Cancer Institute, Bldg. 37, Room 4032, NIH, 37 Convent Drive, MSC-4255, Bethesda, MD 20892-4255, USA

  1. †

    Invited article on the genotoxicity of perinatal NRTI therapy.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 19 MAR 2007
  2. Article first published online: 14 MAR 2006

Funded by

  • National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, NIH. Grant Numbers: R01, HLO 72727
  • National Cancer Institute
  • Center for Cancer Research

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Keywords:

  • HIV-1;
  • AZT;
  • 3TC;
  • d4T;
  • ddI;
  • electron microscopy;
  • mitochondrial DNA;
  • umbilical cord;
  • cord blood

Abstract

Effective reduction in maternal-fetal human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) transmission has been achieved by administration of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) during pregnancy, and although most exposed children are clinically normal at birth, mitochondrial dysfunction has been reported. To examine mitochondrial integrity on a molecular level, we evaluated mitochondrial morphology by electron microscopy (EM) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) quantity in umbilical cords and cord blood from NRTI-exposed and unexposed human and monkey newborns. Human subjects included infants born to HIV-1-infected mothers who received Combivir (Zidovudine [AZT] plus Lamivudine [3TC]) (n = 9) or AZT plus Didanosine [ddI] (n = 2) during pregnancy, and infants born to HIV-1-uninfected mothers (n = 7). NRTI-exposed Erythrocebus patas monkey dams (n = 3 per treatment group) were given human-equivalent dosing regimens containing 3TC, AZT/3TC, AZT/ddI, or Stavudine (d4T)/3TC during gestation. Four infants born to unexposed patas dams served as controls. Mitochondria in umbilical cord endothelial cells from NRTI-exposed monkey and human infants showed substantial abnormal pathology by EM, the extent of which was quantified from coded photomicrographs and shown to be different (P < 0.05) from the unexposed monkey and human newborns. Significant (P < 0.05) mtDNA depletion was found in umbilical cords from both human and monkey NRTI-exposed infants and in human, but not in monkey, cord blood leukocytes. For umbilical cords, an increase in mitochondrial morphological damage correlated with reduction in mtDNA quantity in fetal monkeys (r = 0.94). The treatment-induced mitochondrial compromise in infant monkeys ranked as follows: d4T/3TC > AZT/ddI > AZT/3TC > 3TC. The study demonstrates that transplacental NRTI exposures induce similar mitochondrial damage in cord blood and umbilical cords taken from retroviral-uninfected monkey infants and from human infants born to HIV-1-infected women. Environ. Mol. Mutagen., 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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