The Maternal Immune System and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Material below is adapted from the SfN Short Course The Maternal Interleukin-17a Pathway in Mice Promotes Autism-Like Phenotypes in Offspring, by Gloria B. Choi, PhD, Yeong S. Yim, PhD, Helen Wong, PhD, Sangdoo Kim, PhD, Hyun Ju Kim, PhD, Sangwon V. Kim, PhD, Charles A. Hoeffer, PhD, Jun R. Huh, PhD, and Dan R. Littman, MD, PhD. Short Courses are day-long scientific trainings on emerging neuroscience topics and research techniques held the day before SfN’s annual meeting.

Researchers have shown before that if a mother has a viral infection during pregnancy, her baby has a higher chance of having autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Studies have also shown that activating the maternal immune system in mice leads to ASD-like symptoms in the mouse pups. But it was not clear how the mother’s immune system interacted with the fetal brain.