Maternal infection is a shared environmental risk factor for a spectrum of neuropsychiatric disorders and animal models of maternal immune activation (MIA) exhibit a range of neuropathologies and behaviors with relevance to these disorders. In particular, MIA offspring show chronic, age-and region-dependent changes in brain cytokines, a feature seen in postmortem studies of individuals with neuropsychiatric disorders. These MIA-induced alterations in brain cytokines may index biological processes underlying progression to diagnosable neuropsychiatric disorders. However, cytokines signal through specific cytokine receptors to alter cellular processes and it is the levels of those receptors that are critical for signaling. Yet, it remains unknown whether MIA alters the expression of cytokine receptors in the brains of offspring throughout postnatal development. Here, we measured the expression of 23 cytokine receptors in the frontal cortex of MIA and control offspring from birth to adulthood using qPCR. MIA offspring show dynamic oscillating alterations in cytokine receptors during sensitive periods of neural growth and synaptogenesis. Of the many cytokine receptors altered in the FC of MIA offspring, five were significantly changed at multiple ages at levels over 2-fold relative to controls-Il1r1, Ifngr1, Il10ra, Cx3cr1 and Gmcsfrsuggesting persistent dysfunction within those pathways. In addition to facilitating immune responses, these cytokine receptors play critical roles in neuronal migration and maturation, synapse formation and elimination, and microglial function. Together with previously reported changes in cytokine levels in the brains of MIA offspring, our results show a decrease in cytokine signaling during the peak period of synaptogenesis and spine formation and an increase during periods of activity-dependent development Principal component loadings for P1 and PC2 P60 P7 P0 P14 P30
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.