Impact of prenatal inflammation on developing human brain

项目摘要 母胎界面是妊娠期胎儿健康发育的重要环境 和交付。母体营养因子的减少，如母体甲状腺激素或母体 炎症/母体免疫激活（MIA）与神经发育风险增加有关。 疾病，如自闭症或早产。然而，迄今为止还没有研究直接评估其 对人类大脑发育的影响为了填补这一知识空白，我们建议实验研究 使用共培养的脑类器官研究炎症因子对人类神经发育的影响 小胶质细胞，一个模拟人类大脑发育早期阶段的3D模型。小胶质细胞 是中枢神经系统的免疫细胞，在卵黄囊中产生并穿透大脑 在胚胎发生的关键时期，与突触发生和胶质细胞发生相一致。给定 小胶质细胞是在外周产生的，我们假设小胶质细胞是一个重要的 人类大脑发育的组成部分，最有可能是第一个暴露和反应的脑细胞类型 可能导致产前神经发育障碍的环境因素/毒素。 在这里，我们将调查由于细菌或病毒感染引起的母体炎症对人类的影响。 小胶质细胞以及它如何影响人类大脑发育。此外，鉴于一个人可能 在该个体的一生中或怀孕期间同时或相继暴露于更多的有毒因素， 我们还将致力于通过测试共同暴露于传染性疾病的影响， 药物，并研究它们对人类小胶质细胞功能和人类神经发育的协同影响。 目前使用iPSC的研究样本量有限，并且样本缺乏多样性， 通常来自单一种族/民族的捐赠者。因此，为了采取更具包容性的办法， 根据该提案，我们将使用来自健康个体的大量样本（>50），代表不同种族， 种族和性别密切模仿美国人口中的比例， 更好地了解人口和特定亚群中的健康差异和干预措施。 最终，我们的目标是提供一个更好的了解疾病的机制，涉及孕产妇 炎症和更好的靶向治疗，美国的大多数人口都可以从中受益。

Project Summary The materno-fetal interface is a crucial environment for a healthy fetal development during pregnancy and delivery. A decrease in maternal trophic factors, such as maternal thyroid hormones or a maternal inflammation/maternal immune activation (MIA) have been linked to an increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism or preterm births. However, there has been no study to date to directly evaluate their impact on human developing brain. To fill this gap of knowledge, we propose to experimentally study the consequences of inflammatory factors on human neurodevelopment using the cerebral organoids co-cultured with microglial cells, a 3D model that mimics the early stages of the human brain development. Microglial cells are immune cells of the central nervous system that are generated in the yolk sac and penetrating the brain parenchyma during a critical time of the embryogenesis coinciding with synaptogenesis and gliogenesis. Given that microglial cells are generated in the periphery, we hypothesized that microglial cells are an important component of the human brain development and most likely the first brain cell type to be exposed and respond to an environmental factor/toxin that can potentially contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders prenatally. Here, we will investigate the impact of maternal inflammation due to bacterial or viral infections on human microglial cells and how that can impact the human developing brain. In addition, given that a person could be exposed to more toxic factors simultaneously or sequentially during that individual’s lifespan or during pregnancy, we will also aim to closely replicate the human experience, by testing the impact of co-exposures to infectious agents and study their synergistic impact on human microglial function and human neurodevelopment. Current studies using iPSCs has been limited sample size and the lack of diversity in the samples that are often derived from donors from a single race/ethnical group. Thus, to have a more inclusive approach, in this proposal, we will use a large cohort of samples from healthy individuals (>50), representative of different races, ethnicities and genders closely mimicking the proportions found in the United States’ population that will provide a better understanding of the health disparities and interventions both in populations and in specific subgroups. Ultimately, our goal is to provide a better understanding of the disease mechanisms involved in maternal inflammation and better targeted therapies from which the majority of the population in the US could benefit from.