Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication as well as ritualistic repetitive behaviors. Epidemiological studies suggest that maternal immune activation (MIA) during pregnancy may be a risk factor for ASD. To study MIA in a laboratory setting, we injected mouse dams (C57BL/6) with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (Poly IC) during mid-gestation to mimic a bacterial or viral infection, respectively. We also performed the same Poly IC treatment on a mouse model of Fragile X syndrome (i.e. Fmr1 knockout), a genetic disease with high incidences of ASD. We found modest female-specific impairments in social interaction and striking male-specific increases in repetitive behavior in adult MIA offspring. Moreover, prenatal Poly IC treatment caused genotype-specific deficits in sociability in addition to reduced body weight and rearing in Fmr1 knockout mice only. Therefore, ASD-related behaviors caused by MIA may be sex, treatment, and/or genotype-dependent.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/43346 |
| Date | 11 December 2013 |
| Creators | Xuan, Ingrid Cong Yang |
| Contributors | Hampson, David R. |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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