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Kentner AC, Bilbo SD, Brown AS, Hsiao EY, McAllister AK, Meyer U, Pearce BD, Pletnikov MV, Yolken RH, Bauman MD. Maternal immune activation: reporting guidelines to improve the rigor, reproducibility, and transparency of the model. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:245-258. [PMID: 30188509 PMCID: PMC6300528 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0185-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2018] [Revised: 07/04/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
The 2017 American College of Neuropychopharmacology (ACNP) conference hosted a Study Group on 4 December 2017, Establishing best practice guidelines to improve the rigor, reproducibility, and transparency of the maternal immune activation (MIA) animal model of neurodevelopmental abnormalities. The goals of this session were to (a) evaluate the current literature and establish a consensus on best practices to be implemented in MIA studies, (b) identify remaining research gaps warranting additional data collection and lend to the development of evidence-based best practice design, and (c) inform the MIA research community of these findings. During this session, there was a detailed discussion on the importance of validating immunogen doses and standardizing the general design (e.g., species, immunogenic compound used, housing) of our MIA models both within and across laboratories. The consensus of the study group was that data does not currently exist to support specific evidence-based model selection or methodological recommendations due to lack of consistency in reporting, and that this issue extends to other inflammatory models of neurodevelopmental abnormalities. This launched a call to establish a reporting checklist focusing on validation, implementation, and transparency modeled on the ARRIVE Guidelines and CONSORT (scientific reporting guidelines for animal and clinical research, respectively). Here we provide a summary of the discussions in addition to a suggested checklist of reporting guidelines needed to improve the rigor and reproducibility of this valuable translational model, which can be adapted and applied to other animal models as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda C. Kentner
- 0000 0001 0021 3995grid.416498.6School of Arts & Sciences, Health Psychology Program, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA USA
| | - Staci D. Bilbo
- 000000041936754Xgrid.38142.3cDepartment of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA ,0000 0004 0386 9924grid.32224.35Lurie Center for Autism, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA USA
| | - Alan S. Brown
- 0000000419368729grid.21729.3fDepartment of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY USA ,0000 0000 8499 1112grid.413734.6New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY USA
| | - Elaine Y. Hsiao
- 0000 0000 9632 6718grid.19006.3eDepartment of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - A. Kimberley McAllister
- 0000 0004 1936 9684grid.27860.3bCenter for Neuroscience, University of California Davis, Davis, CA USA
| | - Urs Meyer
- 0000 0004 1937 0650grid.7400.3Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich-Vetsuisse, Winterthurerstrasse, Zurich, Switzerland ,0000 0004 1937 0650grid.7400.3Neuroscience Centre Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Brad D. Pearce
- 0000 0001 0941 6502grid.189967.8Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, and Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Neuroscience Program, Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Mikhail V. Pletnikov
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Robert H. Yolken
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Pediatrics, Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Melissa D. Bauman
- 0000 0004 1936 9684grid.27860.3bThe UC Davis MIND Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, USA
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Pisar M, Forrest CM, Khalil OS, McNair K, Vincenten MC, Qasem S, Darlington LG, Stone TW. Modified neocortical and cerebellar protein expression and morphology in adult rats following prenatal inhibition of the kynurenine pathway. Brain Res 2014; 1576:1-17. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2014.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2014] [Revised: 06/12/2014] [Accepted: 06/13/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Neuropathology and animal models of autism: genetic and environmental factors. AUTISM RESEARCH AND TREATMENT 2013; 2013:731935. [PMID: 24151553 PMCID: PMC3787615 DOI: 10.1155/2013/731935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2013] [Revised: 08/07/2013] [Accepted: 08/09/2013] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Autism is a heterogeneous behaviorally defined neurodevelopmental disorder. It is defined by the presence of marked social deficits, specific language abnormalities, and stereotyped repetitive patterns of behavior. Because of the variability in the behavioral phenotype of the disorder among patients, the term autism spectrum disorder has been established. In the first part of this review, we provide an overview of neuropathological findings from studies of autism postmortem brains and identify the cerebellum as one of the key brain regions that can play a role in the autism phenotype. We review research findings that indicate possible links between the environment and autism including the role of mercury and immune-related factors. Because both genes and environment can alter the structure of the developing brain in different ways, it is not surprising that there is heterogeneity in the behavioral and neuropathological phenotypes of autism spectrum disorders. Finally, we describe animal models of autism that occur following insertion of different autism-related genes and exposure to environmental factors, highlighting those models which exhibit both autism-like behavior and neuropathology.
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Khalil OS, Forrest CM, Pisar M, Smith RA, Darlington LG, Stone TW. Prenatal activation of maternal TLR3 receptors by viral-mimetic poly(I:C) modifies GluN2B expression in embryos and sonic hedgehog in offspring in the absence of kynurenine pathway activation. Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol 2013; 35:581-93. [PMID: 23981041 DOI: 10.3109/08923973.2013.828745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Activation of the immune system during pregnancy is believed to lead to psychiatric and neurological disorders in the offspring, but the molecular changes responsible are unknown. Polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) is a viral-mimetic double-stranded RNA complex which activates Toll-Like-Receptor-3 and can activate the metabolism of tryptophan through the oxidative kynurenine pathway to compounds that modulate activity of glutamate receptors. The aim was to determine whether prenatal administration of poly(I:C) affects the expression of neurodevelopmental proteins in the offspring and whether such effects were mediated via the kynurenine pathway. Pregnant rats were treated with poly(I:C) during late gestation and the offspring were allowed to develop to postnatal day 21 (P21). Immunoblotting of the brains at P21 showed decreased expression of sonic hedgehog, a key protein in dopaminergic neuronal maturation. Expression of α-synuclein was decreased, while tyrosine hydroxylase was increased. Disrupted in Schizophrenia-1 (DISC-1) and 5-HT2C receptor levels were unaffected, as were the dependence receptors Unc5H1, Unc5H3 and Deleted in Colorectal Cancer (DCC), the inflammation-related transcription factor NFkB and the inducible oxidative enzyme cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2). An examination of embryo brains 5 h after maternal poly(I:C) showed increased expression of GluN2B, with reduced doublecortin and DCC but no change in NFkB. Despite altered protein expression, there were no changes in the kynurenine pathway. The results show that maternal exposure to poly(I:C) alters the expression of proteins in the embryos and offspring which may affect the development of dopaminergic function. The oxidation of tryptophan along the kynurenine pathway is not involved in these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omari S Khalil
- Institute for Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, West Medical Building , Glasgow , United Kingdom and
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Forrest CM, Khalil OS, Pisar M, Smith RA, Darlington LG, Stone TW. Prenatal activation of Toll-like receptors-3 by administration of the viral mimetic poly(I:C) changes synaptic proteins, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors and neurogenesis markers in offspring. Mol Brain 2012; 5:22. [PMID: 22681877 PMCID: PMC3496691 DOI: 10.1186/1756-6606-5-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2012] [Accepted: 04/25/2012] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background There is mounting evidence for a neurodevelopmental basis for disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, in which prenatal or early postnatal events may influence brain development and predispose the young to develop these and related disorders. We have now investigated the effect of a prenatal immune challenge on brain development in the offspring. Pregnant rats were treated with the double-stranded RNA polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C); 10 mg/kg) which mimics immune activation occurring after activation of Toll-like receptors-3 (TLR3) by viral infection. Injections were made in late gestation (embryonic days E14, E16 and E18), after which parturition proceeded naturally and the young were allowed to develop up to the time of weaning at postnatal day 21 (P21). The brains of these animals were then removed to assess the expression of 13 different neurodevelopmental molecules by immunoblotting. Results Measurement of cytokine levels in the maternal blood 5 hours after an injection of poly(I:C) showed significantly increased levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), confirming immune activation. In the P21 offspring, significant changes were detected in the expression of GluN1 subunits of NMDA receptors, with no difference in GluN2A or GluN2B subunits or the postsynaptic density protein PSD-95 and no change in the levels of the related small GTPases RhoA or RhoB, or the NMDA receptor modulator EphA4. Among presynaptic molecules, a significant increase in Vesicle Associated Membrane Protein-1 (VAMP-1; synaptobrevin) was seen, with no change in synaptophysin or synaptotagmin. Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA), as well as the neurogenesis marker doublecortin were unchanged, although Sox-2 levels were increased, suggesting possible changes in the rate of new cell differentiation. Conclusions The results reveal the induction by prenatal poly(I:C) of selective molecular changes in the brains of P21 offspring, affecting primarily molecules associated with neuronal development and synaptic transmission. These changes may contribute to the behavioural abnormalities that have been reported in adult animals after exposure to poly(I:C) and which resemble symptoms seen in schizophrenia and related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline M Forrest
- Institute for Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, West Medical Building, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
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Flower RLP, Kamhieh S, McLean L, Bode L, Ludwig H, Ward CM. Human Borna disease virus infection in Australia: serological markers of infection in multi-transfused patients. APMIS 2008:89-93. [PMID: 18771108 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0463.2008.00m17.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Borna disease virus (BDV) causes neurological disease in horses, however, there is no consensus as to the extent or significance of human infection. BDV antigen levels in plasma (BDVpAg) and anti-BDV were measured by ELISAs. Confirmation was by Western blot (WB), immunofluorescence assay (IFA) or BDV-peptide-epitope ELISA. For 42 volunteers psychiatrically-defined as non-depressed (82 samples) neither BDVpAg nor anti-BDV was detected. For 104 patients with diagnosed depression (290 samples) 1 was BDVpAg positive and 5 anti-BDV positive, one epitope-e8 positive and 4 IFA positive, with 96% concordance for repeat samples. No BDVpAg was detected in 214 pregnant women, 2 were anti-BDV positive, one WB-confirmed (p24/p40). For 219 donors 2 were BDVpAg positive with anti-BDV detected in 5 (2.3%) one IFA 1:10, another IFA 1:40/epitope-e8 positive. In multitransfused patients, 3/168 were BDV pAg positive, with 14/168 anti-BDV positive, 1 epitope-e8 positive, 2 WB positive and 1 IFA 1:10. In BDVpAg positive multi-transfused patients there was an elevated risk of transaminitis. In one case, a patient BDV-negative prior to transfusion was BDVpAg positive for several months posttransfusion (associated with transaminitis). These data provide serological evidence, supported by confirmatory assays and repeat-sample concordance, of BDV infection in Australia, particularly in multi-transfused patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert L P Flower
- Northern Blood Research Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
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Patterson PH, Xu W, Smith SE, Devarman BE. Maternal Immune Activation, Cytokines and Autism. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2008. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-60327-489-0_13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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Schmitz C, van Kooten IAJ, Hof PR, van Engeland H, Patterson PH, Steinbusch HWM. Autism: neuropathology, alterations of the GABAergic system, and animal models. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2006; 71:1-26. [PMID: 16512344 DOI: 10.1016/s0074-7742(05)71001-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Schmitz
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Division of Cellular Neuroscience Maastricht University, The Netherlands
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O'Connor S, Fairweather D, Pearce BD, Rasmussen S. Infectious etiologies of chronic diseases: focus on women. Emerg Infect Dis 2005; 10:2028-9. [PMID: 16010733 PMCID: PMC3329021 DOI: 10.3201/eid1011.040623_07] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Siobhán O'Connor
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.
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Meyer U, Feldon J, Schedlowski M, Yee BK. Towards an immuno-precipitated neurodevelopmental animal model of schizophrenia. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2005; 29:913-47. [PMID: 15964075 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2004.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 373] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2004] [Revised: 10/19/2004] [Accepted: 10/19/2004] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
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 naïve 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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urs Meyer
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurobiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Schorenstrasse 16, Schwerzenbach 8603, Switzerland
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