Altered maternal immune networks are associated with adverse child neurodevelopment: Impact of alcohol consumption during pregnancy

Publication date: Available online 5 May 2018 Source:Brain, Behavior, and Immunity Author(s): Tamara S. Bodnar, Charlis Raineki, Wladimir Wertelecki, Lyubov Yevtushok, Larisa Plotka, Natalya Zymak-Zakutnya, Gordon Honerkamp-Smith, Alan Wells, Matthieu Rolland, Todd S. Woodward, Claire D. Coles, Julie A. Kable, Christina D. Chambers, Joanne Weinberg Cytokines and chemokines are potent modulators of brain development and as such, dysregulation of the maternal immune system can result in deviations in the fetal cytokine balance, altering the course of typical brain development, and putting the individual on a “pathway to pathology”. In the current study, we used a multi-variate approach to evaluate networks of interacting cytokines and investigated whether alterations in the maternal immune milieu could be linked to alcohol-related and alcohol-independent child neurodevelopmental delay. This was achieved through the measurement of 40 cytokines/chemokines from maternal blood samples collected during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Importantly, during the second trimester we identified network enrichment in levels of cytokines including IFN-ɣ, IL-10, TNF-β, TNF-α, and CRP associated with offspring neurodevelopmental delay. However, as elevations in levels of these cytokines have previously been reported in a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia, we suggest that this cytokine profile is ...
Source: Brain, Behavior, and Immunity - Category: Neurology Source Type: research