AI Article Synopsis
- Scientists wanted to see if a protein called NLRP3 inflammasome is linked to schizophrenia-like behaviors in young animals whose moms had an immune response during pregnancy.
- They injected pregnant female animals with a substance and then studied their babies at different ages to examine their brains and behavior.
- The results showed that the babies developed behaviors similar to schizophrenia and had higher levels of NLRP3 and a substance called IL-1β in their brains, suggesting that the mom's immune response might lead to mental health issues in the offspring.
Article Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the involvement of nod-like receptor pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in schizophrenia-like behaviour in young animals exposed to maternal immune activation (MIA).
Methods: To this aim, on the 15th gestational day, the females received an injection of lipopolysaccharides. When the animals completed 7, 14 and 45 postnatal days, they were killed and the whole brain was dissected for biochemical analysis. Animals with 45 postnatal days were submitted to behavioural tests of locomotor activity, social interaction and stereotyped movements.
Results: It was observed that the animals presented schizophrenia-like behaviour at 45 postnatal days associated with the increase of NLRP3 inflammasome expression and IL-1β levels on 7, 14 and 45 postnatal days.
Conclusion: This study shows that MIA may be associated with a schizophrenia-like behaviour. This behaviour can be induced to a neuroinflammatory profile in the brain. These evidences may base future studies on the relationship between neuroinflammation and psychiatric disorders.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/neu.2020.27 | DOI Listing |
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