IFIBYNE   05513
INSTITUTO DE FISIOLOGIA, BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR Y NEUROCIENCIAS
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Effect of maternal viral infection on postnatal development in a mouse model of autism
Autor/es:
KAZLAUSKAS N; LUCCHINA L; DEPINO A
Lugar:
Huerta Grande
Reunión:
Congreso; XXVI Congreso Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencia; 2011
Institución organizadora:
Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencia
Resumen:
Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by impediments in communication and social interaction and by stereotyped behaviors. We hypothesized that there is a developmental critical window in which maturation and consolidation of the neural systems responsible for these symptoms typically occur and that they are altered in the patients. Different environmental factors have been linked to autism, in particular, epidemiological studies showed an association between outbreaks of viral diseases and a higher incidence of autism. In this work we used a mouse model of autism: prenatal exposure to valproic acid (VPA) validated in the lab, and combined it with a model of maternal viral infection. Pregnant females were injected with VPA at GD13 and with Polil:C at GD17. We evaluated the postnatal behavior in the 4 experimental groups. To control for unspecific effects on maternal care, we also evaluated maternal behavior during the first postnatal week. Female pups were sacrificed at different postnatal ages and their brains evaluated for glial activation by immunohistochemistry. This study will help us to identify early alterations in brain development and glial activation that lead to autism-related behaviors and to evaluate the effect of maternal infection on these alterations.