Title: The role of glucocorticoid, interleukin-1β, and antioxidants in prenatal stress effects on embryonic microglia.

Authors: Bittle, Jada; Stevens, Hanna E

Published In J Neuroinflammation, (2018 Feb 16)

Abstract: Maternal stress during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of psychopathology in offspring. Resident immune cells of the brain, microglia, may be mediators of prenatal stress and altered neurodevelopment. Here, we demonstrate that neither the exogenous pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), nor the glucocorticoid hormone, corticosterone, recapitulated the full effects of prenatal stress on the morphology of microglial cells in the cortical plate of embryonic mice; IL-1β effects showed greater similarity to prenatal stress effects on microglia. Unexpectedly, oil vehicle alone, which has antioxidant properties, moderated the effects of prenatal stress on microglia. Microglia changes with prenatal stress were also sensitive to the antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine, suggesting redox dysregulation as a mechanism of prenatal stress.

PubMed ID: 29452586

MeSH Terms: Animals; Antioxidants/therapeutic use*; Cell Count/methods; Cerebral Cortex/diagnostic imaging; Cerebral Cortex/embryology; Cerebral Cortex/metabolism; Female; Gene Knock-In Techniques/methods; Glucocorticoids/toxicity*; Interleukin-1beta/toxicity*; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Microglia/drug effects*; Microglia/metabolism; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/chemically induced*; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/metabolism; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/prevention & control*