15598
Maternal Immune Activation during Pregnancy Induces Gender-Specific Behavioral Effects in Offspring
Objectives: The objectives were to (a) compare the induction of MIA using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with that of polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (Poly IC) in terms of behavioral effects on offspring, and (b) to examine gender effects of these treatments.
Methods: C57BL/6 mouse dams were treated with either LPS or Poly IC during mid-gestation to mimic a bacterial or viral infection respectively. Autism-associated behaviors were assessed in the adult offspring using motor activity tests to evaluate locomotion and exploration in a novel environment, two versions of the three-chamber testing paradigm to test sociability, and the marble burying test and self-grooming analyses to investigate repetitive behavior.
Results: We found that prenatal LPS treatment caused female-specific increases in thigmotaxis behavior as well as modest decreases in sociability and self-grooming during habituation. In contrast, Poly IC treatment caused a male-specific reduction in motor activity concomitant with increased repetitive behaviors.
Conclusions: We conclude that autism-related behaviors observed in the mouse model of maternal immune activation are dependent on the type of immune stimulus given to the mother, and the gender of the offspring.