Distinct alterations in white matter properties and organization related to maternal treatment initiation in neonates exposed to HIV but uninfected

Abstract

AbstractHIV exposed-uninfected (HEU) infants and children are at risk of developmental delays as compared to uninfected unexposed (HUU) populations. The effects of exposure toin uteroHIV and ART regimens on the HEU the developing brain are not well understood.In a cohort of 2-week-old newborns, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography and graph theory to examine the influence of HIV and ART exposurein uteroon neonate white matter integrity and organisation. The cohort included HEU infants born to mothers who started ART before conception (HEUpre) and after conception (HEUpost), as well as HUU infants from the same community. We investigated HIV exposure and ART duration group differences in DTI metrics (fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD)) and graph measures across white matter.We found increased MD in white matter connections involving the thalamus and limbic system in the HEUpregroup compared to HUU. We further identified reduced nodal efficiency in the basal ganglia. Within the HEUpostgroup, we observed reduced FA in cortical-subcortical and cerebellar connections as well as decreased transitivity in the hindbrain area compared to HUU.Overall, our analysis demonstrated distinct alterations in white matter integrity related to the timing of maternal ART initiation that influence regional brain network properties.