Effects of immunization with heat-killed Mycobacterium vaccae on autism spectrum disorder-like behavior and epileptogenesis in a rat model of comorbid autism and epilepsy.

Effects of immunization with heat-killed Mycobacterium vaccae on autism spectrum disorder-like behavior and epileptogenesis in a rat model of comorbid autism and epilepsy. Brain Behav Immun. 2020 May 19;: Authors: Smith ZZ, Kubiak RA, Arnold MR, Loupy KM, Taylor JA, Crist TG, Bernier AE, D'Angelo HM, Heinze JD, Lowry CA, Barth DS Abstract Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and epilepsy are often comorbid. The basis for this co-occurrence remains unknown; however, inflammatory stressors during development are a shared risk factor. To explore this association, we tested the effect of repeated immunizations using a heat-killed preparation of the stress-protective immunoregulatory microbe Mycobacterium vaccae NCTC 11659 (M. vaccae) on the behavioral and epileptogenic consequences of the combined stress-terbutaline (ST) rat model of ASD-like behavior/epilepsy. Repeated immunization of the dam with M. vaccae during pregnancy, followed by immunization of the pups after terbutaline injections, prevented the expression of ASD-like behavior but did not appear to protect against, and may have even enhanced, the spontaneous epileptogenic effects of ST. Maternal M. vaccae injections transferred an anti-inflammatory immunophenotype to offspring, and repeated injections across development prevented ST-induced increases in microglial density at early developmental time points in a region-specific manner. Despite epidemiological comorbidity between ASD...
Source: Brain, Behavior, and Immunity - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Brain Behav Immun Source Type: research