Characterizing Microglia in a Mouse Model of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Based on Prenatal Maternal Immune Activation
Hi my name is William Ozell-Landry,
I'm an undergraduate in microbiology and immunology at University of Montreal.
I came across the topic of circadian rhythms in my cellular biology class and I've been passionate about it every since! If you want to know a bit more on the importance of a good sleep hygiene and its impact on mental health, come see my presentation!
Characterizing Microglia in a Mouse Model of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Based on Prenatal Maternal Immune Activation
Circadian rhythm disruption is a known comorbidity of schizophrenia and affects up to 80% of the patients. However, it is still unclear if CRD could act as a risk factor and/or interact with other risk factors to make those affected more prone to develop schizophrenia. To explore this hypothesized risk factor and its proposed interaction with other neurodevelopmental risk factor, pregnant mice were injected with polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (polyIC) at embryonic day 9.5. Twelve of the resulting adults (males) underwent either a normal 12h of light, 12 hour of dark protocol or a constant light protocol. These mice brain were then analyzed using immunohistochemistry to look at the microglial environment. The results demonstrate a main effect of mIA in the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampal CA1 and dentate gyrus, as well as a main effect of light in the prefrontal cortex only. Although no significant interaction between mIA and CRD has been found, this might be explained by the low sample size and the quantification of only one microglial characteristic. Therefore, more individuals need to be analyzed in each group and the density of the microglial environment will be studied.