Chaired by John Bucher, NIEHS

Balcony B, Natcher Conference Center

Zidovudine (ZDV; AZT) used in antiretroviral therapy (ART) alone or in combination with other drugs, is given to thousands of women to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.   ZDV and some other effective antiretroviral drugs are nucleoside base analogues that can cause genetic changes and adverse health effects.  The NTP/NIEHS AIDS program uses rodent models to examine toxicities and develop biomarkers for use in humans undergoing ART.   This symposium will review the clinical benefits of ART in reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV along with results of NTP/NIEHS studies of mitochondrial dysfunction, tumor induction, and biomarkers of genetic damage in rodents exposed in utero and postnatally to ZDV.  Finally, studies in infants born to HIV-infected women and exposed to ART will be discussed, with consideration given to implications of the collected findings for the long-term health of these children.

Program:

Antiviral Treatments to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV - A Success Story
Lynne Mofenson, NICHD 

Mitochondrial Diseases and Effects of ART on Mitochondrial DNA Replication
William Copeland, NIEHS

Changes in Cancer Genes in ZDV-induced Lung Tumors in Mice
Robert Sills, NIEHS

Biomarkers of Genetic Damage in Infants Exposed Prenatally to ZDV
Kristine Witt, NIEHS