Dopamine and serotonin levels following prenatal viral infection in mouse--implications for psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and autism.

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Dopamine and serotonin levels following prenatal viral infection in

mouse--implications for psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and autism.

 

Winter C, Reutiman TJ, Folsom TD, Sohr R, Wolf RJ, Juckel G, Fatemi SH.

Department of Psychiatry, Charite, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany.

Prenatal viral infection has been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders

such as schizophrenia and autism. It has previously been demonstrated that viral

infection causes deleterious effects on brain structure and function in mouse

offspring following late first trimester (E9) and middle-late second trimester

(E18) administration of influenza virus. Neurochemical analysis following

infection on E18 using this model has revealed significantly altered levels of

serotonin, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and taurine, but not dopamine. In order

to monitor these different patterns of monoamine expression in exposed offspring

in more detail and to see if there are changes in the dopamine system at another

time point, pregnant C57BL6J mice were infected with a sublethal dose of human

influenza virus or sham-infected using vehicle solution on E16. Male offspring

of the infected mice were collected at P0, P14, and P56, their brains removed

and cerebellum

dissected and flash frozen. Dopamine and serotonin levels were then measured

using HPLC-ED technique. When compared to controls, there was a significant

decrease in serotonin levels in the cerebella of offspring of virally exposed

mice at P14. No differences in levels of dopamine were observed in exposed and

control mice, although there was a significant decrease in dopamine at P14 and

P56 when compared to P0. The present study shows that the serotonergic system is

disrupted following prenatal viral infection, potentially modelling disruptions

that occur in patients with schizophrenia and autism.

PMID: 18693086 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

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