Maternal immune suppression during pregnancy does not prevent abnormal behavior in offspring

• Published in: Biology of sex differences 2024-03, Vol.15 (1), p.27-27, Article 27
• Main Authors: Griffin, Ashley, Bowles, Teylor, Solis, Lucia, Railey, Teryn, Beauti, Samer, Robinson, Reanna, Spencer, Shauna-Kay, Shaffery, James P, Wallace, Kedra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abatacept; ADHD; Animal models; Animals; Behavior; Brain; Cell activation; Cognitive ability; Development and progression; Enzymes; Females; Gender differences; HELLP syndrome; Hippocampus; Hypertension; Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy; Immune system; Inflammation; Kinases; Liver; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Metabolism; Myelin; Myelin basic protein; Myelin proteins; Neurodevelopment; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Offspring; Pre-eclampsia; Preeclampsia; Prefrontal cortex; Pregnancy; Pregnancy complications; Pregnant women; Sex differences (Psychology); sFlt-1; T cells; Video recorders
• ISSN: 2042-6410; 2042-6410
• DOI: 10.1186/s13293-024-00600-8

Offspring of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are at an increased risk of developing neurodevelopmental and neurobehavioral disorders compared to offspring from non-affected pregnancies. Using rodent models of Preeclampsia (PreE; new onset of hypertension after 20 weeks gestation) and HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets), we studied the behavioral outcome of their offspring in adolescence. A subset of dams received Orencia, a T-cell activation inhibitor, as T cells have been associated with the induction of hypertension and inflammation during pregnancy. We hypothesized that offspring from hypertensive dams would experience adverse behavioral outcomes in social, cognitive, locomotor, and anxiety tests, and offspring from dams treated with Orencia would demonstrate less adverse behaviors. Male offspring of PreE + Orencia dams (p