Abstract

Introduction

Materials & Methods

Results

Discussion & Conclusion

References

Discussion
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Since 1993 AZT treatment of seropositive pregnant women and puerperae has been widely used due to its effectivness in reducing risks of mother/newborn transmission of HIV. Medium- and long-term effects of AZT on neurobehavioural development and adult responding are still poorly described, even though some limited, selective, and sex-dependent alterations have been already reported in rodent models of human exposure. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-term effects of prenatal AZT treatment on aggressive behaviour of adult male mice. Pregnant CD-1 mice were administered saline vehicle, 0.4, or 0.8 mg/ml AZT in drinking water from gestation day 10 to delivery. Social-aggressive types of interaction were assessed in their male offspring (10 mice from each treatment group) following a 4-week isolation period according to two tasks: a single 20-min encounter with an isolated same-strain opponent on postnatal day (PND) 90, or five repeated pairings with a group-caged opponent (maintained in 8-male groups) on PND 150. Dose dependent alteration of both aggressive and defensive components of the male-specific agonistic pattern was evident only in the former test, AZT mice showing 'dominant-type' features more often than corresponding controls. This work was supported by IX Project on AIDS of the Italian Ministry of Health (grants no. 940-A and 10/A/G).

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Poster Number PArondinini0231
Keywords: AZT, AIDS, aggressive, behaviour, mice