Gestational Exposure to Air Pollution Alters Cortical Volume, Microglial Morphology, and Microglia-Neuron Interactions in a Sex-Specific Manner.

ABSTRACT: Microglia are the resident immune cells of the brain, important for normal neural development in addition to host defense in response to inflammatory stimuli. Air pollution is one of the most pervasive and harmful environmental toxicants in the modern world, and several large scale epidemiological studies have recently linked prenatal air pollution exposure with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Diesel exhaust particles (DEP) are a primary toxic component of air pollution, and markedly activate microglia in vitro and in vivo in adult rodents. We have demonstrated that prenatal exposure to DEP in mice, i.e., to the pregnant dams throughout gestation, results in a persistent vulnerability to behavioral deficits in a

SUBMITTER: Bolton JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5449437 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature