Maternal-fetal immune conflict contributes to male-specific impairments in a mouse model of neurodevelopmental disorders.

ABSTRACT: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) arises through a combination of genetic and environmental risk factors. One environmental risk factor is maternal immune activation (MIA), wherein pathogenic infections in pregnant individuals increase the risk of ASD in the offspring, an effect seen most prevalently in males. However, the reasons that males exhibit this heightened sensitivity to MIA, and the mechanisms through which inflammatory signals traverse the maternal-fetal interface to impact the developing male embryo, remain largely mysterious. Here, we harness the poly(I:C) mouse model of neurodevelopmental disorders to uncover changes in fetal health and in the structure and composition of the maternal-fetal interface that occur within twenty-four hours of MIA. We find that 30% of embryos exhibit

SUBMITTER: Sanchez-Martin I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12889653 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature