The Outcomes of Maternal Immune Activation Induced with the Viral Mimetic Poly I:C on Microglia in Exposed Rodent Offspring

Maternal immune activation (MIA) can result from a variety of maternal inflammatory factors, including metabolic disorders, nutritional deficits, infections, and psychosocial stress. MIA has been consistently recognized as a major risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders, and this association seems to be especially important for viral infections, as viral exposure during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders, such as schizophrenia. In MIA, the gestational parent ’s inflammatory response to an immune stimulus alters or interrupts fetal development, triggering neurodevelopmental consequences. As MIA can occur in any pregnancy it is important to understand the many factors at play that contribute to altered brain development in the offspring, especially cons idering recent global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The underlying mechanisms by which MIA results in deleterious outcomes are not yet clear, but due to the inflammatory response it initiates, it is becoming apparent that microglia are critically involved. Through investigation of MIA animal models, the role of microglia in this field is becoming more evident. Compelling evidence from animal models indicates that MIA can disrupt synaptic pruning, neuronal progenitor cell proliferation /differentiation, oligodendrogenesis and more. Microglia appear as an active player, assisting these n eural-related functions during healthy development, but also mediating MIA-ind...
Source: Developmental Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research