Prenatal exposure to antibodies from mothers of children with autism produces neurobehavioral alterations: A pregnant dam mouse model

A pregnant mouse model was used to compare the effect of IgG, administered E13-E18, from mothers of children with autistic disorder (MCAD), to controls (simple- and IgG-) on behavioral testing in offspring. Mice, exposed in-utero to MCAD-IgG, as adolescents, were more active during the first ten minutes of central field novelty testing and, as adults, displayed anxiety-like behavior on a component of the elevated plus maze and had a greater magnitude of startle following acoustic stimulation. On a social interaction paradigm, adult mice had alterations of sociability. Pilot studies of immune markers in MCAD IgG-exposed embryonic brains suggest evidence of cytokine and glial activation. These studies demonstrate that the transplacental passage of IgG from MCAD is capable of inducing long-term behavioral consequences.