Sex-Specific Neurodevelopmental Programming by Placental Insulin Receptors on Stress Reactivity and Sensorimotor Gating.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Diabetes, obesity, and overweight are prevalent pregnancy complications that predispose offspring to neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and schizophrenia. Although male individuals are three to four times more likely than female individuals to develop these disorders, the mechanisms driving the sex specificity of disease vulnerability remain unclear. Because defective placental insulin receptor (InsR) signaling is a hallmark of pregnancy metabolic dysfunction, we hypothesized that it may be an important contributor and novel mechanistic link to sex-specific neurodevelopmental changes underlying disease risk.

Methods

We used Cre/loxP transgenic mice to conditionally target InsRs in fetally derived placental tro

SUBMITTER: Bronson SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5483189 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature