Maternal stress increases risk of allergic lung inflammation in adult mice.
Immunobiology 2023;
228:152395. [PMID:
37210753 DOI:
10.1016/j.imbio.2023.152395]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Allergies are increasing worldwide. The presence of atopic diseases in the mother propagates the onset of allergic diseases in the offspring with a considerably stronger penetrance than atopic diseases of the father. Such observation challenges genetic predispositions as the sole cause of allergic diseases. Epidemiological studies suggest that caregiver stress in the perinatal period may predispose offspring to asthma. Only one group has studied the link between prenatal stress and neonatal asthma susceptibility in a murine model.
OBJECTIVES
We aimed to study if the neonatal increased risk of developing allergic lung inflammation persists after puberty and if there are sex differences in susceptibility.
METHODS
Pregnant BALB/c mice were subjected to a single restraint stress exposure at day 15 of gestation. Pups were separated by gender and subjected to a well-known sub-optimal asthma model after puberty.
RESULTS
Adult mice born to stressed dams were more susceptible to developing allergic pulmonary inflammation since an increase in the number of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), a greater peribronchial and perivascular infiltrate, a higher proportion of mucus-producing cells, and increased IL-4 and IL-5 levels in BAL were detected compared to control mice. These effects were more profound in females than males. Moreover, only females from stressed dams showed an increase in IgE levels.
CONCLUSIONS
Increased litter susceptibility to develop allergic lung inflammation induced by maternal stress persists after puberty and is more potent in females than in male mice.
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