Preliminary evidence of neuropathology in nonhuman primates prenatally exposed to maternal immune activation.

ABSTRACT: Maternal infection during pregnancy increases the risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring. Rodent models have played a critical role in establishing maternal immune activation (MIA) as a causal factor for altered brain and behavioral development in offspring. We recently extended these findings to a species more closely related to humans by demonstrating that rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) prenatally exposed to MIA also develop abnormal behaviors. Here, for the first time, we present initial evidence of underlying brain pathology in this novel nonhuman primate MIA model. Pregnant rhesus monkeys were injected with a modified form of the viral mimic polyI:C (poly ICLC) or saline at the end of the first trimester. Brain tissue was collected from the offspring at 3.5 years and bloc

SUBMITTER: Weir RK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5671487 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature