Background: Erythrocebus patas (patas) monkeys were used to model antiretroviral (ARV) drug in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected pregnant women.
Methods: Pregnant patas dams were given human-equivalent doses of ARVs daily during 50% of gestation. Mesenchymal cells, cultured from bone marrow of patas offspring obtained at birth and at 1 and 3 years of age, were examined for genotoxicity, including centrosomal amplification, micronuclei, and micronuclei containing whole chromosomes.
Results: Compared with controls, statistically significant increases (P < .05) in centrosomal amplification, micronuclei, and micronuclei containing whole chromosomes were found in mesenchymal cells from most groups of offspring at the 3 time points.
Conclusions: Transplacental nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor exposures induced fetal genotoxicity that was persistent for 3 years.
Keywords: Erythrocebus patas; abacavir; aneuploidy; centrosomal amplification; lamivudine; mesenchymal fibroblasts; micronuclei; nevirapine; zidovudine.