Association of Maternal Diabetes and Autism Spectrum Disorders in Offspring: a Study in a Rodent Model of Autism

AbstractThe present study investigated that maternal type 1 diabetes may contribute to autism pathogenesis in offspring, and that insulin therapy during pregnancy may prevent the onset of autism. As evidenced, selected brain biomarkers representing the accepted etiological mechanism of autism in newborn rats from diabetic mothers and diabetic mothers receiving insulin therapy compared to the propionic acid (PPA) rodent model of autism were screened. Female Wistar rats with a controlled fertility cycle were randomly divided into three groups: a control group, a group treated with a single dose of 65  mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) to induce type 1 diabetes (T1D), and a group treated with a single dose of STZ to induce T1D along with insulin therapy. Neonatal rats from these groups were divided into four experimental groups of six animals each: the control group, oral buffered PPA-treated group adm inistered a neurotoxic dose of 250 mg/kg PPA for 3 days to induce autism, neonatal rats from mothers with T1D, and neonatal rats from mothers with T1D receiving insulin therapy. Biochemical parameters of oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and glutamate excitotoxicity were examined in brain homog enates from all neonatal rats. The development of pathogenic bacteria was monitored in stool samples from all rat groups. Descriptive analyses of changes in fecal microbiota and overgrowth ofClostridium species were performed in diabetic mothers, diabetic mothers treated with insulin therapy...
Source: Journal of Molecular Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research