Early Effects of Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation on Foetal Brain Development in Rat
2011
Studies in humans and animal models link maternal infection and imbalanced levels of inflammatory mediators in the foetal brain to the aetiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. In a number of animal models, it was shown that exposure to viral or bacterial agents during a period that corresponds to the second trimester in human gestation triggers brain and behavioural abnormalities in the offspring. However, little is known about the early cellular and molecular events elicited by inflammation in the foetal brain shortly after maternal infection has occurred. In this study, maternal infection was mimicked by two consecutive intraperitoneal injections of 200 μg of LPS (lipopolysaccharide)/kg to timed-pregnant rats at GD15 (gestational day 15) and GD16. Increased thickness of the CP (cortical plate) and hippocampus together with abnormal distribution of immature neuronal markers and decreased expression of markers for neural progenitors were observed in the LPS-exposed foetal forebrains at GD18. Such effects ...
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