Dysregulation of circulating angiopoietins is associated with low birth weight in children who are HIV-exposed and uninfected

HIV exposure in utero is associated with low birth weight (LBW), even in the absence of vertical transmission. To explore mechanism, we evaluated endothelial markers angiopoietin (Ang)-1 and Ang-2 among 294 uninfected Ugandan infants born to women with HIV (WWH). The median Ang-2/Ang-1 ratio was 0.051 [interquartile range (IQR) 0.023-0.19] among infants with LBW and 0.018 (IQR 0.010-0.037) among controls (P = 0.00011). Endothelial dysregulation may contribute to LBW among infants born to WWH.