Effects of Prenatal AZT on Mouse Neurobehavioral Development and Passive Avoidance Learning

Recent evidence has shown that perinatal administration of zidovudine (AZT) to HIV-infected mothers reduces the risk of maternal–infant transmission of the virus. Treatment of pregnant seropositive women with AZT is becoming a common medical practice, despite the paucity of information about the potential neurotoxic/behavioral-teratogenic effects of AZT on the developing organism. The aim of the present study is to evaluate in mice the short-, medium-, and long-term effects of prenatal exposure to AZT on neurobehavioral development. Pregnant mice were given 0.2, 0.4, and 2.0 mg/ml AZT in drinking water from day 10 of gestation to delivery. Offspring’s viability was severely affected in the 2.0 mg/ml AZT group. Thus, behavioral analysis was carried out in offspring of 0.2 and 0.4 mg/ml AZT-treated females only. Some limited but significant alterations were found, such as stunted body weight, delayed appearance of the pole-grasping reflex, and a slight impairment in the acquisition phase of a passive avoidance response. Moreover, sexual differences in some items of the social behavior repertoire appeared to be affected by AZT treatment.