Reversibility of Mitochondrial Toxicity in HIV Lipoatrophy

HIV lipoatrophy is a condition marked by fat loss; it occurs in many patients taking antiretroviral (ARV) therapy that includes nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). Lipoatrophy may be related to mitochondrial toxicity, a condition that can damage the heart, nerves, muscles, kidneys, and liver, and can affect the body's ability to produce energy. NucleomaxX is a food supplement consisting of a sugar cane extract high in nucleosides, which are building blocks that may counteract the negative effects of NRTIs. Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is an NRTI that may cause less lipoatrophy than other drugs in its class, such as zidovudine (ZDV) or stavudine (d4T). The purpose of this study is to determine whether nucleoside supplementation with NucleomaxX and substitution of TDF for ZDV or d4T in an ARV regimen can reverse fat loss caused by mitochondrial toxicity in HIV infected adults.

Study hypotheses: 1) The substitution of TDF for d4T or ZDV in patients with HIV lipoatrophy will result in an increase in mitochondrial DNA content in fat, skeletal muscle, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), which in turn will lead to an improvement in mitochondrial function as assessed by electron transport chain (ETC) and oxidative phosphorylation pathway (OXPHOS) activity. The latter should lead to a decrease in fat apoptosis and in mitochondrial and lipid oxidative damage biomarkers. 2) Supplementation with uridine (via NucleomaxX) will increase mtDNA content in adipose tissue and increase body fat content.