Forensic mitochondrial DNA analysis in HIV-infected patients treated with nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors

Hypervariable regions HV1 and HV2 of the mitochondrial DNA control region were sequenced in pre-therapy (serum) and post-therapy (saliva, hair) biological samples collected from HIV-infected patients (n = 13) treated with nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). Occurrence of length/point heteroplasmic mutations as a consequence of treatment with NRTIs was evaluated. The observed rate of length heteroplasmy in the analyzed samples was consistent with values previously reported in untreated subjects, whereas no evidence of point heteroplasmy in post-treatment tissue samples was seen.