Activation of the maternal immune system during pregnancy alters behavioral development of rhesus monkey offspring.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Maternal infection during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia and autism in the offspring. Supporting this correlation, experimentally activating the maternal immune system during pregnancy in rodents produces offspring with abnormal brain and behavioral development. We have developed a nonhuman primate model to bridge the gap between clinical populations and rodent models of maternal immune activation (MIA).

Methods

A modified form of the viral mimic, synthetic double-stranded RNA (polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid stabilized with poly-L-lysine) was delivered to two separate groups of pregnant rhesus monkeys to induce MIA: 1) late first trimester MIA (n = 6), and 2) late second trimester MIA (n = 7). Control animals (n = 11) received sal

SUBMITTER: Bauman MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6782053 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature