Experimental Perinatal Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 by Passage of Infected T Cells

Pediatric AIDS typically follows transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) from infected mothers to their offspring. The possibility that infected maternal-origin cells serve as a conveyance for mother-to-child HIV-1 transmission was investigated in a rabbit infection model. Administration of HIV-1-infected human T cells to pregnant rabbits was followed by evaluation of offspring, from newborn to 1.5 years of age. HIV-1 was detected in 11 of 19 vaginally delivered offspring born to mothers given infected cells during gestation. Interstitial pneumonias or lymphoid organ lesions, similar to those seen in human pediatric AIDS, occurred in some offspring. Persistence of inoculum cell (HLA)-specific gene sequences in offspring indicated that vertical transmission can be effected by T cell-associated virus. These results along with features of rabbit biology, including primate-type placentation, short gestation, and delivery of litters, suggest that the rabbit model is advantageous for studies of perinatal HIV-1 transmission.