Altered Heterochromatin Organization after Perinatal Exposure to Zidovudine

Abstract

Results differed significantly between NRTI-exposed and -unexposed children. By contrast, there was no difference between NRTI-unexposed children born to HIV-1-infected mothers and children born to HIV-uninfected mothers. The anomaly persisted in lymphocytes cultured for 48 h. There was no evidence of abnormal DNA methylation, a major feature of constitutive heterochromatin and associated with the loss of its structure. In a complementary sample of children, analysis of chromosome 11 and 16 heterochromatin suggests that the defect affects most of the other heterochromatic sites of the human genome. The heterochromatin defect persists long after the end of the exposure and appears in leukocytes of both myeloid and lymphoid lineages, suggesting that haematopoietic stem cells are affected.