Maternal immune activation leads to behavioral and pharmacological changes in the adult offspring

Maternal exposure to viral infection has been associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia in the offspring, and it has been suggested that the maternal immune response may interfere with normal fetal brain development. Although studies in rodents have shown that perinatal viral infections can lead to neuropathological and behavioral abnormalities considered relevant to schizophrenia, it is not clear whether these consequences are due to the infection itself or to the maternal immune response to infection. We show that an induction of maternal immune stimulation without exposure to a virus by injecting pregnant dams with the synthetic cytokine releaser polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidilic acid (poly I:C) leads to abnormal behavioral and pharmacological responses in the adult offspring. As in schizophrenia, these offspring displayed excessive behavioral switching, manifested in the loss of latent inhibition and in rapid reversal learning. Consistent with the clinical pharmacology of schizophrenia, both deficits were alleviated by antipsychotic treatment. In addition, these offspring displayed increased sensitivity to the locomotor-stimulating effects of MK-801, pointing to developmental alterations of the dopaminergic and/or glutamatergic systems. Prenatal poly I:C administration did not produce learning deficits in classical fear conditioning, active avoidance, discrimination learning and water maze. These results show that the maternal immune response is sufficient to cause behavioral and pharmacological alterations relevant to schizophrenia in the adult offspring.     

The risk for behavioural deficits is determined by the maternal immune response to prenatal immune challenge in a neurodevelopmental model

BackgroundSchizophrenia is a highly disabling psychiatric disorder with a proposed neurodevelopmental basis. One mechanism through which genetic and environmental risk factors might act is by triggering persistent brain inflammation, as evidenced by long-lasting neuro-immunological disturbances in patients. Our goal was to investigate whether microglia activation is a neurobiological correlate to the altered behaviour in the maternal immune activation (MIA) model, a well-validated animal model with relevance to schizophrenia. A recent observation in the MIA model is the differential maternal body weight response to the immune stimulus, correlated with a different behavioural outcome in the offspring. Although it is generally assumed that the differences in maternal weight response reflect differences in cytokine response, this has not been investigated so far. Our aim was to investigate whether (i) the maternal weight response to MIA reflects differences in the maternal cytokine response, (ii) the differential behavioural phenotype of the offspring extends to depressive symptoms such as anhedonia and (iii) there are changes in chronic microglia activation dependent on the behavioural phenotype.MethodsBased on a dose–response study, MIA was induced in pregnant rats by injecting 4 mg/kg Poly I:C at gestational day 15. Serum samples were collected to assess the amount of TNF-α in the maternal blood following MIA. MIA offspring were divided into weight loss (WL; n = 14) and weight gain (WG; n = 10) groups, depending on the maternal body weight response to Poly I:C. Adult offspring were behaviourally phenotyped for prepulse inhibition, locomotor activity with and without amphetamine and MK-801 challenge, and sucrose preference. Finally, microglia activation was scored on CD11b- and Iba1-immunohistochemically stained sections.ResultsPregnant dams that lost weight following MIA showed increased levels of TNF-α compared to controls, unlike dams that gained weight following MIA. Poly I:C WL offspring showed the most severe behavioural outcome. Poly I:C WG offspring, on the other hand, did not show clear behavioural deficits. Most interestingly a reduced sucrose preference indicative of anhedonia was found in Poly I:C WL but not Poly I:C WG offspring compared to controls. Finally, there were no significant differences in microglia activation scores between any of the investigated groups.ConclusionsThe individual maternal immune response to MIA is an important determinant of the behavioural outcome in offspring, including negative symptoms such as anhedonia. We failed to find any significant difference in the level of microglia activation between Poly I:C WL, Poly I:C WG and control offspring.     

Maternal immune stimulation during pregnancy affects adaptive immunity in offspring to promote development of TH17 cells

Behavioral abnormalities in offspring of murine dams that receive immune stimulation with (poly)I:C during pregnancy are well-documented. In this prenatal model, (poly)I:C-induced maternal cytokines, particularly IL-6, appear involved in the etiology of the behavioral abnormalities. While much has been published on the abnormal behaviors of offspring in this model, much less is known about how maternal immune stimulation affects the adaptive immune system of the offspring, and its possible role in the observed pathophysiology. In the present study, pregnant dams were stimulated with (poly)I:C at E12, and 24 h later cytokine levels were measured in maternal sera and amniotic fluids. Lymphocytes from offspring were also analyzed for T Helper (TH) cell subsets. The results demonstrate that lymphocytes from offspring of pregnant dams stimulated with (poly)I:C develop into TH17 cells upon in vitro activation. This preferential TH17 cell differentiation occurs in offspring of pregnant dams with an immunological “memory” phenotype, but not in offspring of immunologically “naive” dams. Comparable levels of IL-6 were found in the sera of immune and naïve pregnant dams, however, there was a disparity between levels of IL-6 in maternal sera and amniotic fluids of (poly)I:C-injected dams. In matings between IL-6 KO dams (IL-6^−/−) and wild-type males (IL-6^+/+) there was no IL-6 in sera from (poly)I:C-injected dams, but there were high levels of IL-6 in their amniotic fluids. Analysis of supernatants of cultured placental cell preparations from these IL-6 KO dams confirmed that the IL-6 was produced from the fetal (IL-6^+/−) component, and heterozygous IL-6^+/− offspring could also produce IL-6.     

Effects of risperidone treatment in adolescence on hippocampal neurogenesis, parvalbumin expression, and vascularization following prenatal immune activation in rats

Maternal infection in pregnancy is an environmental risk factor for the development of schizophrenia and related disorders in the offspring, and this association is recapitulated in animal models using gestational infection or immune stimulation. We have recently shown that behavioral abnormalities and altered hippocampal morphology emerging in adult offspring of dams treated with the viral mimic polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidilic acid (poly I:C) are prevented by treatment with the atypical antipsychotic drug risperidone (RIS) in adolescence. Here we used a battery of cellular markers and Nissl stain to morphometrically analyze different hippocampal cell populations in the offspring of poly I:C and saline-treated mothers that received saline or RIS in adolescence, at different time points of postnatal development. We report that impaired neurogenesis, disturbed micro-vascularization and loss of parvalbumin-expressing hippocampal interneurons, are found in the offspring of poly I:C-treated dams. Most, but not all, of these neuropathological changes are not present in poly I:C offspring that had been treated with RIS. These effects may be part of the complex processes underlying the capacity of RIS treatment in adolescence to prevent structural and behavioral abnormalities deficits in the poly I:C offspring.     

Risperidone Administered During Asymptomatic Period of Adolescence Prevents the Emergence of Brain Structural Pathology and Behavioral Abnormalities in an Animal Model of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a disorder of a neurodevelopmental origin manifested symptomatically after puberty. Structural neuroimaging studies show that neuroanatomical aberrations precede onset of symptoms, raising a question of whether schizophrenia can be prevented. Early treatment with atypical antipsychotics may reduce the risk of transition to psychosis, but it remains unknown whether neuroanatomical abnormalities can be prevented. We have recently shown, using in vivo structural magnetic resonance imaging, that treatment with the atypical antipsychotic clozapine during an asymptomatic period of adolescence prevents the emergence of schizophrenia-like brain structural abnormalities in adult rats exposed to prenatal immune challenge, in parallel to preventing behavioral abnormalities. Here we assessed the preventive efficacy of the atypical antipsychotic risperidone (RIS). Pregnant rats were injected on gestational day 15 with the viral mimic polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidylic acid (poly I:C) or saline. Their male offspring received daily RIS (0.045 or 1.2 mg/kg) or vehicle injection in peri-adolescence (postnatal days [PND] 34–47). Structural brain changes and behavior were assessed at adulthood (from PND 90). Adult offspring of poly I:C–treated dams exhibited hallmark structural abnormalities associated with schizophrenia, enlarged lateral ventricles and smaller hippocampus. Both of these abnormalities were absent in the offspring of poly I:C dams that received RIS at peri-adolescence. This was paralleled by prevention of schizophrenia-like behavioral abnormalities, attentional deficit, and hypersensitivity to amphetamine in these offspring. We conclude that pharmacological intervention during peri-adolescence can prevent the emergence of behavioral abnormalities and brain structural pathology resulting from in utero insult. Furthermore, highly selective 5HT_2A receptor antagonists may be promising targets for psychosis prevention.     

Effects of risperidone and paliperidone pre-treatment on locomotor response following prenatal immune activation

Aim

Limited data are available regarding pharmacological characteristics of effective interventions for psychosis prevention. Enrollment challenges in psychosis prevention trials impede screening diverse interventions for efficacy. Relevant animal models could help circumvent this barrier. We previously described prevention with risperidone of abnormal behavior following neonatal hippocampal lesion. We aimed to extend those findings evaluating risperidone and paliperidone following prenatal immune activation, a developmental model of a schizophrenia risk factor. We evaluated a later developmental time point to determine persistent effects of drug treatment.

Methods

Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with poly I:C or saline on gestational day 14. Offspring of poly I:C and saline-treated dams received risperidone (0.45 mg/kg/d), paliperidone (0.05 mg/kg/d), or vehicle from postnatal days 35-70. Locomotor responses to novelty, saline injection, and amphetamine (1 and 5 mg/kg) were determined at three months, i.e., 21 days following antipsychotic discontinuation.

Results

Risperidone and paliperidone had persistent effects on behavioral response to amphetamine (1 mg/kg) at 3 months, ameliorating the impact of prenatal immune activation on offspring of poly I:C-treated dams. Risperidone, but not paliperidone, also exerted persistent effects in offspring of saline-treated dams on locomotor response to saline and amphetamine (5 mg/kg) injection.

Conclusions

Risperidone and paliperidone pre-treatment of poly I:C offspring during peri-pubertal development stabilized response to amphetamine exposure persisting into early adulthood. Prenatal immune activation provides a model for evaluating effects of an environmental risk factor for schizophrenia, and has potential utility for identifying pharmacological approaches to early intervention.     

Prenatal versus postnatal maternal factors in the development of infection-induced working memory impairments in mice

Prenatal maternal infection is an environmental risk factor for neurodevelopmental psychiatric illness and disease-associated cognitive impairments. Modeling this epidemiological link in animals shows that prenatal immune challenge is capable of inducing long-lasting deficits in numerous cognitive domains. Here, we combined a neonatal cross-fostering design with a mouse model of prenatal immune challenge induced by maternal gestational treatment with the viral mimetic poly(I:C) to dissect the relative contribution of prenatal and postnatal maternal effects on the offspring. We show that offspring prenatally exposed to poly(I:C) display significant impairments in spatial matching-to-position working memory and spatial novelty presence regardless of whether they are raised by gestationally immune-challenged or non-challenged control surrogate mothers. Likewise, prenatally immune challenged offspring exhibit reduced glutamic acid decarboxylase 65-kDa (GAD₆₅) and 67-kDa (GAD₆₇) gene expression in the adult medial prefrontal cortex and dorsal hippocampus largely independently of the postnatal rearing conditions. In addition, we confirm that being raised by a gestationally immune-challenged surrogate mother is sufficient to increase the offspring’s locomotor response to systemic amphetamine treatment. Our data thus suggest that prenatal infection-induced deficits in spatial short-term memory are mediated by prenatal maternal effects on the offspring. At the same time, our study adds further weight to the notion that being reared by a surrogate mother that experienced immune activation during pregnancy may constitute a risk factor for specific dopaminergic abnormalities.     

Baseline immunoreactivity before pregnancy and poly(I:C) dose combine to dictate susceptibility and resilience of offspring to maternal immune activation

Despite the potential of rodent models of maternal immune activation (MIA) to identify new biomarkers and therapeutic interventions for a range of psychiatric disorders, current approaches using these models ignore two of the most important aspects of this risk factor for human disease: (i) most pregnancies are resilient to maternal viral infection and (ii) susceptible pregnancies can lead to different combinations of phenotypes in offspring. Here, we report two new sources of variability—the baseline immunoreactivity (BIR) of isogenic females prior to pregnancy and differences in immune responses in C57BL/6 dams across vendors—that contribute to resilience and susceptibility to distinct combinations of behavioral and biological outcomes in offspring. Similar to the variable effects of human maternal infection, MIA in mice does not cause disease-related phenotypes in all pregnancies and a combination of poly(I:C) dose and BIR predicts susceptibility and resilience of pregnancies to aberrant repetitive behaviors and alterations in striatal protein levels in offspring. Even more surprising is that the intermediate levels of BIR and poly(I:C) dose are most detrimental to offspring, with higher BIR and poly(I:C) doses conferring resilience to measured phenotypes in offspring. Importantly, we identify the BIR of female mice as a biomarker before pregnancy that predicts which dams will be most at risk as well as biomarkers in the brains of newborn offspring that correlate with changes in repetitive behaviors. Together, our results highlight considerations for optimizing MIA protocols to enhance rigor and reproducibility and reveal new factors that drive susceptibility of some pregnancies and resilience of others to MIA-induced abnormalities in offspring.     

Repeated administration of MK-801 produces sensitization to its own locomotor stimulant effects but blocks sensitization to amphetamine

Repeated amphetamine administration produced behavioral sensitization to subsequent amphetamine challenge. The development of sensitization was blocked by coadministration of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist MK-801. Conditioned locomotion, as revealed by saline challenge, was also blocked by MK-801, suggesting that behavioral sensitization and conditioned locomotion may share a requirement for NMDA receptor stimulation. Repeated MK-801 administration produced behavioral sensitization to MK-801 but not amphetamine challenge, suggesting that MK-801 itself produces sensitization through a different mechanism than amphetamine.     

Maternal immune activation leads to activated inflammatory macrophages in offspring

Several epidemiological studies have shown an association between infection or inflammation during pregnancy and increased risk of autism in the child. In addition, animal models have illustrated that maternal inflammation during gestation can cause autism-relevant behaviors in the offspring; so called maternal immune activation (MIA) models. More recently, permanent changes in T cell cytokine responses were reported in children with autism and in offspring of MIA mice; however, the cytokine responses of other immune cell populations have not been thoroughly investigated in these MIA models. Similar to changes in T cell function, we hypothesized that following MIA, offspring will have long-term changes in macrophage function. To test this theory, we utilized the poly (I:C) MIA mouse model in C57BL/6J mice and examined macrophage cytokine production in adult offspring. Pregnant dams were given either a single injection of 20 mg/kg polyinosinic–polycytidylic acid, poly (I:C), or saline delivered intraperitoneally on gestational day 12.5. When offspring of poly (I:C) treated dams reached 10 weeks of age, femurs were collected and bone marrow-derived macrophages were generated. Cytokine production was measured in bone marrow-derived macrophages incubated for 24 h in either growth media alone, LPS, IL-4/LPS, or IFN-γ/LPS. Following stimulation with LPS alone, or the combination of IFN-γ/LPS, macrophages from offspring of poly (I:C) treated dams produced higher levels of IL-12(p40) (p < 0.04) suggesting an increased M1 polarization. In addition, even without the presence of a polarizing cytokine or LPS stimulus, macrophages from offspring of poly (I:C) treated dams exhibited a higher production of CCL3 (p = 0.05). Moreover, CCL3 levels were further increased when stimulated with LPS, or polarized with either IL-4/LPS or IFN-γ/LPS (p < 0.05) suggesting a general increase in production of this chemokine. Collectively, these data suggest that MIA can produce lasting changes in macrophage function that are sustained into adulthood.     

Towards an immuno-precipitated neurodevelopmental animal model of schizophrenia

Epidemiological studies have indicated an association between maternal bacterial and viral infections during pregnancy and the higher incidence of schizophrenia in the resultant offspring post-puberty. One hypothesis asserts that the reported epidemiological link is mediated by prenatal activation of the foetal immune system in response to the elevation of maternal cytokine level due to infection. Here, we report that pregnant mouse dams receiving a single exposure to the cytokine-releasing agent, polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidilic acid (PolyI:C; at 2.5, 5.0, or 10.0 mg/kg) on gestation day 9 produced offspring that subsequently exhibited multiple schizophrenia-related behavioural deficits in adulthood, in comparison to offspring from vehicle injected or non-injected control dams. The efficacy of the PolyI:C challenge to induce cytokine responses in na?ve non-pregnant adult female mice and in foetal brain tissue when injected to pregnant mice were further ascertained in separate subjects: (i) a dose-dependent elevation of interleukin-10 was detected in the adult female mice at 1 and 6h post-injection, (ii) 12 h following prenatal PolyI:C challenge, the foetal levels of interleukin-1beta were elevated. The spectrum of abnormalities included impairments in exploratory behaviour, prepulse inhibition, latent inhibition, the US-pre-exposure effect, spatial working memory; and enhancement in the locomotor response to systemic amphetamine (2.5 mg/kg, i.p.) as well as in discrimination reversal learning. The neuropsychological parallels between prenatal PolyI:C treatment in mice and psychosis in humans, demonstrated here, leads us to conclude that prenatal PolyI:C treatment represents one of the most powerful environmental-developmental models of schizophrenia to date. The uniqueness of this model lies in its epidemiological and immunological relevance. It is, sui generis, ideally suited for the investigation of the neuropsychoimmunological mechanisms implicated in the developmental aetiology and disease processes of schizophrenia.     

Activation of the maternal immune system alters cerebellar development in the offspring

A common pathological finding in autism is a localized deficit in Purkinje cells (PCs). Cerebellar abnormalities have also been reported in schizophrenia. Using a mouse model that exploits a known risk factor for these disorders, maternal infection, we asked if the offspring of pregnant mice given a mid-gestation respiratory infection have cerebellar pathology resembling that seen in these disorders. We also tested the effects of maternal immune activation in the absence of virus by injection of the synthetic dsRNA, poly(I:C). We infected pregnant mice with influenza on embryonic day 9.5 (E9.5), or injected poly(I:C) i.p. on E12.5, and assessed the linear density of PCs in the cerebellum of adult or postnatal day 11 (P11) offspring. To study granule cell migration, we also injected BrdU on P11. Adult offspring of influenza- or poly(I:C)-exposed mice display a localized deficit in PCs in lobule VII of the cerebellum, as do P11 offspring. Coincident with this are heterotopic PCs, as well as delayed migration of granule cells in lobules VI and VII. The cerebellar pathology observed in the offspring of influenza- or poly(I:C)-exposed mice is strikingly similar to that observed in autism. The poly(I:C) findings indicate that deficits are likely caused by the activation of the maternal immune system. Finally, our data suggest that cerebellar abnormalities occur during embryonic development, and may be an early deficit in autism and schizophrenia.     

Additive effects of maternal iron deficiency and prenatal immune activation on adult behaviors in rat offspring

Both iron deficiency (ID) and infection are common during pregnancy and studies have described altered brain development in offspring as a result of these individual maternal exposures. Given their high global incidence, these two insults may occur simultaneously during pregnancy. We recently described a rat model which pairs dietary ID during pregnancy and prenatal immune activation. Pregnant rats were placed on iron sufficient (IS) or ID diets from embryonic day 2 (E2) until postnatal day 7, and administered the bacterial endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or saline on E15/16. In this model, LPS administration on E15 caused greater induction of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α, in ID dams compared to IS dams. This suggested that the combination of prenatal immune activation on a background of maternal ID might have more adverse neurodevelopmental consequences for the offspring than exposure to either insult alone. In this study we used this model to determine whether combined exposure to maternal ID and prenatal immune activation interact to affect juvenile and adult behaviors in the offspring. We assessed behaviors relevant to deficits in humans or animals that have been associated with exposure to either maternal ID or prenatal immune activation alone. Adult offspring from ID dams displayed significant deficits in pre-pulse inhibition of acoustic startle and in passive avoidance learning, together with increases in cytochrome oxidase immunohistochemistry, a marker of metabolic activity, in the ventral hippocampus immediately after passive avoidance testing. Offspring from LPS treated dams showed a significant increase in social behavior with unfamiliar rats, and subtle locomotor changes during exploration in an open field and in response to amphetamine. Surprisingly, there was no interaction between effects of the two insults on the behaviors assessed, and few observed alterations in juvenile behavior. Our findings show that long-term effects of maternal ID and prenatal LPS were additive, such that offspring exposed to both insults displayed more adult behavioral abnormalities than offspring exposed to one alone.     

Immune activation during pregnancy in mice leads to dopaminergic hyperfunction and cognitive impairment in the offspring: a neurodevelopmental animal model of schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Maternal viral infection is associated with increased risk for schizophrenia. It is hypothesized that the maternal immune response to viruses may influence fetal brain development and lead to schizophrenia. METHODS: To mimic a viral infection, the synthetic double strand RNA polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidilic acid (poly I:C) was administered into pregnant mice. Behavioral evaluations (thigmotaxis, methamphetamine [MAP]-induced hyperactivity, novel-object recognition test [NORT]), sensorimotor gating (prepulse inhibition [PPI]), and biochemical evaluation of the dopaminergic function of the offspring of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-treated dams (PBS-mice) and that of poly I:C-treated dams (poly I:C-mice) were examined. RESULTS: In juveniles, no difference was found between the poly I:C-mice and PBS-mice. However, in adults, the poly I:C-mice exhibited attenuated thigmotaxis, greater response in MAP-induced (2 mg/kg) hyperlocomotion, deficits in PPI, and cognitive impairment in NORT compared with the PBS-mice. Cognitive impairment in the adult poly I:C-mice could be improved by subchronic administration of clozapine (5.0 mg/kg) but not haloperidol (.1 mg/kg). Increased dopamine (DA) turnover and decreased receptor binding of D2-like receptors, but not D1-like receptors, in the striatum were found in adult poly I:C-mice. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal poly I:C administration causes maturation-dependent increased subcortical DA function and cognitive impairment in the offspring, indicating a neurodevelopmental animal model of schizophrenia.     

Effect of maternal immune activation on the kynurenine pathway in preadolescent rat offspring and on MK801-induced hyperlocomotion in adulthood: Amelioration by COX-2 inhibition

Infections during pregnancy and subsequent maternal immune activation (MIA) increase risk for schizophrenia in offspring. The progeny of rodents injected with the viral infection mimic polyI:C during gestation display brain and behavioural abnormalities but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Since the blood kynurenine pathway (KP) of tryptophan degradation impacts brain function and is strongly regulated by the immune system, we tested if KP changes occur in polyI:C offspring at preadolescence. We also tested whether MK801-induced hyperlocomotion, a behaviour characteristic of adult polyI:C offspring, is prevented by adolescent treatment with celecoxib, a COX-2 inhibitor that impacts the KP. Pregnant rats were treated with polyI:C (4 mg/kg, i.v.) or vehicle on gestational day 19. Serum levels of KP metabolites were measured in offspring of polyI:C or vehicle treated dams at postnatal day (PND) 31–33 using HPLC/GCMS. Additional polyI:C or vehicle exposed offspring were given celecoxib or vehicle between PND 35 and 46 and tested with MK801 (0.3 mg/kg) in adulthood (PND > 90). Prenatal polyI:C resulted in increases in the serum KP neurotoxic metabolite quinolinic acid at PND 31–33 (105%, p = 0.014). In contrast, the neuroprotective kynurenic acid and its precursor kynurenine were significantly decreased (28% p = 0.027, and 31% p = 0.033, respectively). Picolinic acid, another neuroprotective KP metabolite, was increased (31%, p = 0.014). Adolescent treatment with celecoxib (2.5 and 5 mg/kg/day, i.p.) prevented the development of MK801-induced hyperlocomotion in adult polyI:C offspring. Our study reveals the blood KP as a potential mechanism by which MIA interferes with postnatal brain maturation and associated behavioural disturbances and emphasises the preventative potential of inflammation targeting drugs.     

Neuroanatomy and psychomimetic-induced locomotion in C57BL/6J and 129/X1SvJ mice exposed to developmental vitamin D deficiency

Evidence from epidemiology suggests that developmental vitamin D (DVD) deficiency is associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia. DVD deficiency in rats is associated with altered brain morphology and enhanced hyperlocomotion in response to MK-801 and amphetamine. The aim of this study was to determine if similar phenotypes were associated with DVD deficiency in two strains of mice (C57BL/6J, 129/X1SvJ). Brains from neonatal (P0) and adult (P70) mice were imaged using MRI and the volumes of the cerebrum, hippocampus, striatum, septum, cortex and ventricles measured, as well as the widths of white matter tracts. Locomotor sensitivity to 5mg/kg d-amphetamine, 0.5mg/kg MK-801 or saline was examined in a separate group of mice in an open field. DVD deficiency altered brain morphology in C57BL6/J mice, such that C57BL/6J female DVD-deficient neonatal mice had a smaller hippocampus compared to female controls. In addition, adult C57BL/6J male DVD-deficient mice had smaller lateral ventricles compared to controls, which may have been compressed by the enlarged striatum seen in these DVD-deficient mice. However, in contrast to the behavioural phenotypes found in DVD-deficient rats, there was no significant effect of maternal diet on amphetamine or MK-801-induced locomotion in either strain. These data indicate that not only species, but also strain of mouse, moderates the impact of DVD deficiency on neuroanatomical and behavioural phenotypes in rodent animal models.     

Effects of early or late prenatal immune activation in mice on behavioral and neuroanatomical abnormalities relevant to schizophrenia in the adulthood

Maternal immune activation (MIA) during pregnancy in rodents increases the risk of the offspring to develop schizophrenia-related behaviors, suggesting a relationship between the immune system and the brain development. Here we tested the hypothesis that MIA induced by the viral mimetic polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) in early or late gestation of mice leads to behavioral and neuroanatomical disorders in the adulthood. On gestational days (GDs) 9 or 17 pregnant dams were treated with poly I:C or saline via intravenous route and the offspring behaviors were measured during adulthood. Considering the progressive structural neuroanatomical alterations in the brain of individuals with schizophrenia, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to perform brain morphometric analysis of the offspring aged one year. MIA on GD9 or GD17 led to increased basal locomotor activity, enhanced motor responses to ketamine, a psychotomimetic drug, and reduced time spent in the center of the arena, suggesting an increased anxiety-like behavior. In addition, MIA on GD17 reduced glucose preference in the offspring. None of the treatments altered the relative volume of the lateral ventricles. However, a decrease in brain volume, especially for posterior structures, was observed for one-year-old animals treated with poly I:C compared with control groups. Thus, activation of the maternal immune system at different GDs lead to neuroanatomical and behavioral alterations possibly related to the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. These results provide insights on neuroimmunonological and neurodevelopmental aspects of certain psychopathologies, such as schizophrenia.     

Decreased hyperlocomotion induced by MK-801, but not amphetamine and caffeine in mice lacking cellular prion protein (PrP(C))

The cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) has been involved in several neurodegenerative disorders however it has been proposed that it is also be implicated in psychotic disorders. We investigated the effect of three psychotropic drugs in locomotor activity of PrP(C) knockout (Prnp(O/O)) and wild-type mice. The NMDA receptor channel blocker MK-801 (0.25 mg/kg), the indirect dopamine agonist amphetamine (1 mg/kg) and the adenosine receptor antagonist caffeine (10 mg/kg) were administered i.p. after 60 min of habituation and locomotion was monitored for 3 h. Prnp(O/O) mice presented a diminished hyperlocomotor response to MK-801 treatment but normal response to amphetamine and caffeine compared to wild type mice. These results suggest that lack of PrP(C) leads to a functional alteration in the glutamatergic system, whereas the regulation of both dopaminergic and adenosinergic systems are preserved. Finally, lack of PrP(C) seems not to exacerbate the response to these psychotropic drugs, which modulate neurotransmitter systems possibly involved in schizophrenia and psychotic disorders.     

Maternal immune activation alters nonspatial information processing in the hippocampus of the adult offspring

The observation that maternal infection increases the risk for schizophrenia in the offspring suggests that the maternal immune system plays a key role in the etiology of schizophrenia. In a mouse model, maternal immune activation (MIA) by injection of poly(I:C) yields adult offspring that display abnormalities in a variety of behaviors relevant to schizophrenia. As abnormalities in the hippocampus are a consistent observation in schizophrenia patients, we examined synaptic properties in hippocampal slices prepared from the offspring of poly(I:C)- and saline-treated mothers. Compared to controls, CA1 pyramidal neurons from adult offspring of MIA mothers display reduced frequency and increased amplitude of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents. In addition, the specific component of the temporoammonic pathway that mediates object-related information displays increased sensitivity to dopamine. To assess hippocampal network function in vivo, we used expression of the immediate-early gene, c-Fos, as a surrogate measure of neuronal activity. Compared to controls, the offspring of poly(I:C)-treated mothers display a distinct c-Fos expression pattern in area CA1 following novel object, but not novel location, exposure. Thus, the offspring of MIA mothers may have an abnormality in modality-specific information processing. Indeed, the MIA offspring display enhanced discrimination in a novel object recognition, but not in an object location, task. Thus, analysis of object and spatial information processing at both synaptic and behavioral levels reveals a largely selective abnormality in object information processing in this mouse model. Our results suggest that altered processing of object-related information may be part of the pathogenesis of schizophrenia-like cognitive behaviors.     

Prenatal exposure of Long-Evans rats to 17alpha-ethinylestradiol modifies neither latent inhibition nor prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex but elicits minor deficits in exploratory behavior

Prenatal administration of synthetic estrogens in humans as well as lower mammals was reported to alter behavior in adulthood. The alterations remain to be characterized according to specific pathophysiological hypotheses. In this study, three common behavioral models of schizophrenia were tested, i.e., latent inhibition (LI), prepulse inhibition of the startle response (PPI) and hyperlocomotion under amphetamine. Female Long-Evans rats were injected i.p. with a solution of 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (15 microg kg(-1)) everyday from day 9 to 14 of pregnancy, and behavioral characteristics of their offspring, raised by Wistar foster mothers, were compared to those of rats born from dams injected with the vehicle only, over the same gestation period. LI was tested in a conditioned taste aversion and a conditioned passive avoidance paradigm followed by a parametric study of PPI and an evaluation of locomotion in an open field under saline or amphetamine (1.5 mg kg(-1)). Histological brain measurements were also carried out in a subset of the same rats. Neither LI nor PPI was altered using methods that had proven sensitive in previous pharmacological studies. Treated rats' locomotion was impaired, but amphetamine did not elicit a differential enhancement. A thinner Amon's horn layer was observed in their hippocampus. This indicates that standard models of schizophrenia did not fit to the behavioral abnormalities found by others and confirmed in this study. They were not due to the abnormal maternal care to pups elicited by the treatment.