It’s important to underscore that the increase in risk is really small.. Nevertheless, the biological cascade triggered by this effect is not well understood, particularly in how it may be similar to known biology behind conditions like autism.
- Michael Lombardo
In a study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers at the University of Cyprus, University of Cambridge, University of California, San Diego, and Stanford University used rats and mice to help map the complex biological cascade caused by the mother’s immune response, which may lead to important consequences.
Maternal infections during pregnancy are a known risk factor for abnormal fetal development. Most strikingly, this has been seen during the recent emergence of Zika virus, which led to babies being born with an abnormally small head and brain (known as ‘microcephaly’). In the case of Zika, the virus has its impact by directly attacking fetal brain tissue. However, for most other infections, such as influenza, the infectious agent typically has a more indirect impact on fetal development.
Large population-based studies have previously shown that a variety of maternal infections during pregnancy are associated with small increases in the risk for psychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia. Other studies have shown that this effect is due not to the infectious agents themselves, but simply due to triggering a strong immune response in a pregnant mother – a phenomenon known as ‘maternal immune activation’.
“It’s important to underscore that the increase in risk is really small – too small to be meaningfully applied to specific individuals, and is only seen in very large studies when examining many thousands of people,” says Dr Michael Lombardo, lead author of the work from the University of Cyprus and the University of Cambridge. “Nevertheless, the biological cascade triggered by this effect is not well understood, particularly in how it may be similar to known biology behind conditions like autism. This was the motivation behind why we did the study.”
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Image: Grobidon
Credit: Yohann Legrand
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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