Researcher(s)
- Natalie Rivera, Neuroscience, University of Delaware
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Jaclyn Schwarz, Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Delaware
Abstract
Natalie L. Rivera, Mary Beth Bielicki, Daria E. Willis, Jaclyn M. Schwarz
Previous research has shown the immune response of a mother is significantly altered during
pregnancy. Thus, during maternal immune activation (MIA), there is an increase in the
expression of immune molecules which are upregulated throughout maternal, placental, and
fetal tissues. This MIA response has been shown to alter neural and glial gene expression in the
fetal brain, leading to an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism,
ADHD, schizophrenia, and other learning disorders. This project will investigate the expression
of IL-33 in maternal spleen, maternal dorsal hippocampal (dHP), fetal brain, and placental
tissues. IL-33 is a neuroprotective cytokine which has been shown to control the activation and
recruitment of regulatory T-cells. Regulatory T-cells control the body’s immune response since
bacterial cell walls bind to these cells’ receptors. For this experiment, pregnant female Sprague-
Dawley rats are injected with saline or lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 50µg/ml/kg, i.p.) on embryonic
day 15 (E15). LPS is used to stimulate an immune response which mimics that of bacterial
exposure. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction q(RT-PCR) was preformed to
compare the expression of IL-33 across the various conditions (LPS vs. saline, collection
timepoint, offspring sex) and across tissue samples (maternal spleen, maternal dHP, fetal brain,
placenta). Preliminary data are consistent with the neuroprotective nature of IL-33 in maternal
spleen tissue. These results will expand our understanding of MIA and its impact on the
neurodevelopment of offspring. In addition, these results will aid in the development of
immunomodulatory tools designed to passively release IL-33 throughout the body.