http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/c...unity-linked-to-brain-inflammation-in-monkeys
It looks like they were unfortunately not checking for differences in immune function of exposed offspring, or their gut microbiome ... which was what rodent studies show, i.e. that prenatal immune insults lead to not only neuroinflammation but also general immune disturbance (tendency for pro-inflammatory overreaction later in life, without actually fighting off pathogens effectively) and gut dysbiosis + leaky gut!
... Last year, Bauman and her colleagues debuted a macaque model of maternal immune activation: They injected pregnant monkeys with a mock flu virus at the end of either the first trimester or the second. Both groups of young macaques show stereotyped and repetitive movements by age 2, the study found. Babies exposed during the first trimester also show abnormal social behaviors.
... Bauman’s team used a tracer called PK11195, which binds to activated microglia, cells associated with brain inflammation that have been linked to autism. Monkeys exposed to an infection in either the first or second trimester show abnormally high levels of inflammation across the whole brain, the study found.
...
The new study found that the brains of the monkeys exposed to maternal infection in the first or second trimester show higher levels of striatal dopamine than in controls.
“We’re pretty excited by these data,” Bauman says. The monkey models “are a nice way to bridge the gap between rodent models and clinical populations.”
It looks like they were unfortunately not checking for differences in immune function of exposed offspring, or their gut microbiome ... which was what rodent studies show, i.e. that prenatal immune insults lead to not only neuroinflammation but also general immune disturbance (tendency for pro-inflammatory overreaction later in life, without actually fighting off pathogens effectively) and gut dysbiosis + leaky gut!
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