Publication
Title
Hypolocomotive behaviour associated with increased microglia in a prenatal immune activation model with relevance to schizophrenia
Author
Abstract
Over the past decade a neurodevelopmental animal model with high validity for schizophrenia has been developed based on the environmental risk factor known as maternal immune activation (MIA). The immunological basis of this model, together with extensive data from clinical and preclinical context, suggests the involvement of an aberrant neuro-immune system in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The goal of this study was to examine microglia activation in adult behaviourally phenotyped MIA offspring. MIA was induced in pregnant rats using viral mimetic Poly I:C at gestational day 15. Adult offspring were behaviourally phenotyped at postnatal days (PND) 56,90 and 180 through the evaluation of prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle and spontaneous locomotion. Finally, the presence of activated microglia in brain regions associated with schizophrenia was evaluated using post-mortem immunohistochemistry against OX-42 (CD11b) and ED-1 (CD68). Although a deficit in PPI could not be replicated despite the high number of animals tested, we found an overall decrease in basal startle response and spontaneous locomotion in offspring born to Poly I:C- compared to saline-treated dams, accompanied by increased microglial density with characteristics of non-reactive activation in the chronic stage of the model. These findings provide additional evidence for a role played by microglial activation in schizophrenia-related pathology in general and psychomotor slowing in particular, and warrant extensive research on the underlying mechanism in order to establish new drug targets for the treatment of schizophrenia patients with an inflammatory component. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Behavioural brain research. - Amsterdam
Publication
Amsterdam : 2014
ISSN
0166-4328
DOI
10.1016/J.BBR.2013.10.005
Volume/pages
258 (2014) , p. 179-186
ISI
000328805100022
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Longitudinal in vivo follow-up of PET biomarkers in neurological disease models.
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 06.02.2014
Last edited 09.10.2023
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