Virus-Induced Maternal Immune Activation as an Environmental Factor in the Etiology of Autism and Schizophrenia.
Publication Date
2022Journal Title
Front Neurosci
ISSN
1662-4548
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Volume
16
Language
en
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Massarali, A., Adhya, D., Srivastava, D. P., Baron-Cohen, S., & Kotter, M. (2022). Virus-Induced Maternal Immune Activation as an Environmental Factor in the Etiology of Autism and Schizophrenia.. Front Neurosci, 16 https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.834058
Abstract
Maternal immune activation (MIA) is mediated by activation of inflammatory pathways resulting in increased levels of cytokines and chemokines that cross the placental and blood-brain barriers altering fetal neural development. Maternal viral infection is one of the most well-known causes for immune activation in pregnant women. MIA and immune abnormalities are key players in the etiology of developmental conditions such as autism, schizophrenia, ADHD, and depression. Experimental evidence implicating MIA in with different effects in the offspring is complex. For decades, scientists have relied on either MIA models or human epidemiological data or a combination of both. MIA models are generated using infection/pathogenic agents to induce an immunological reaction in rodents and monitor the effects. Human epidemiological studies investigate a link between maternal infection and/or high levels of cytokines in pregnant mothers and the likelihood of developing conditions. In this review, we discuss the importance of understanding the relationship between virus-mediated MIA and neurodevelopmental conditions, focusing on autism and schizophrenia. We further discuss the different methods of studying MIA and their limitations and focus on the different factors contributing to MIA heterogeneity.
Keywords
Neuroscience, autism spectrum conditions, autism, maternal immune activation (MIA), SARS-CoV-2, schizophrenia, LPS, Poly(I:C)
Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (214322/Z/18/Z)
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.834058
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/336455
Rights
Licence:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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