Sex-specific effects of prenatal valproic acid exposure on sociability and neuroinflammation: Relevance for susceptibility and resilience in autism.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders with an incidence four times higher in boys than in girls. By analyzing the effect of sex in a mouse model of ASD, we were able to identify immune alterations that could underlie this sex bias. Pregnant mice were injected subcutaneously with 600 mg/kg of valproic acid (VPA) or saline at gestational day 12.5. Their male and female offspring were evaluated in a social interaction test at adulthood, and only male VPA mice showed reduced sociability levels and a lack of preference for the social stimulus over a novel object. We then analyzed the corticosterone (CORT) response to an inflammatory stimulus, as a measure of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function, and the neuroinflammatory state in adult and young animals. Adult VPA males exhibited increased basal CORT levels, while VPA females showed levels comparable to controls. As male mice showed a blunted CORT response at PD21 when compared to female mice, we propose that this early dimorphism could explain the different effects of VPA on HPA function. In addition, prenatal VPA exposure resulted in altered astroglial and microglial cell density levels in the cerebellum and dentate gyrus of adult mice. These neuroinflammatory effects were more pronounced in females than males, and appeared at early developmental stages. Hence, these postnatal glial density differences could underlie the behavioral alterations observed in adulthood, when only males show a social deficit. Our work contributes to the understanding of biological mechanisms affected by VPA on male and female rodents and shed light on the study of possible resilience mechanisms in the female population and/or susceptibility to ASD in boys.

Sociability deficits after prenatal exposure to valproic acid are rescued by early social enrichment.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impaired social interactions and repetitive patterns of behavior. Symptoms appear in early life and persist throughout adulthood. Early social stimulation can help reverse some of the symptoms, but the biological mechanisms of these therapies are unknown. By analyzing the effects of early social stimulation on ASD-related behavior in the mouse, we aimed to identify brain structures that contribute to these behaviors. Methods: We injected pregnant mice with 600-mg/kg valproic acid (VPA) or saline (SAL) at gestational day 12.5 and evaluated the effect of weaning their offspring in cages containing only VPA animals, only SAL animals, or mixed. We analyzed juvenile play at PD21 and performed a battery of behavioral tests in adulthood. We then used preclinical PET imaging for an unbiased analysis of the whole brain of these mice and studied the function of the piriform cortex by c-Fos immunoreactivity and HPLC. Results: Compared to control animals, VPA-exposed animals play less as juveniles and exhibit a lower frequency of social interaction in adulthood when reared with other VPA mice. In addition, these animals were less likely to investigate social odors in the habituation/dishabituation olfactory test. However, when VPA animals were weaned with control animals, these behavioral alterations were not observed. Interestingly, repetitive behaviors and depression-related behaviors were not affected by social enrichment. We also found that VPA animals present high levels of glucose metabolism bilaterally in the piriform cortex (Pir), a region known to be involved in social behaviors. Moreover, we found alterations in the somatosensory, motor, and insular cortices. Remarkably, these effects were mostly reversed after social stimulation. To evaluate if changes in glucose metabolism in the Pir correlated with changes in neuronal activity, we measured c-Fos immunoreactivity in the Pir and found it increased in animals prenatally exposed to VPA. We further found increased dopamine turnover in the Pir. Both alterations were largely reversed by social enrichment. Conclusions: We show that early social enrichment can specifically rescue social deficits in a mouse model of ASD. Our results identified the Pir as a structure affected by VPA-exposure and social enrichment, suggesting that it could be a key component of the social brain circuitry.

Deficits in temporal processing in mice prenatally exposed to Valproic Acid.

Temporal processing in the seconds-to-minutes range, known as interval timing, is a crucial cognitive function that requires activation of cortico-striatal circuits via dopaminergic-glutamatergic pathways. In humans, both children and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) present alterations in their estimation of time intervals. At present, there are no records of interval timing studies in animal models of ASD. Hence, the objective of the present work was to evaluate interval timing in a mouse model of prenatal exposure to valproic acid (VPA) - a treatment used to induce human-like autistic features in rodent models. Animals were assessed for their ability to acquire timing responses in 15-s and 45-s peak-interval (PI) procedures. Our results indicate that both female and male mice prenatally exposed to VPA present decreased timing accuracy and precision compared to control groups, as well as deviations from the scalar property. Moreover, the observed timing deficits in male VPA mice were reversed after early social enrichment. Furthermore, catecholamine determination by HPLC-ED indicated significant differences in striatal dopaminergic, but not serotonergic, content in female and male VPA mice, consistent with previously identified alterations in dopamine metabolism in ASD. These deficits in temporal processing in a mouse model of autism complement previous results in humans, and provide a useful tool for further behavioral and pharmacological studies.

Postnatal behavioral and inflammatory alterations in female pups prenatally exposed to valproic acid.

In Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a bias to a higher incidence in boys than in girls has been reported. With the aim to identify biological mechanisms acting in female animals that could underlie this bias, we used an extensively validated mouse model of ASD: the prenatal exposure to valproic acid (VPA). We found postnatal behavioral alterations in female VPA pups: a longer latency in righting reflex at postnatal day (P) 3, and a delay in the acquisition of the acoustic startle response. We also analyzed the density of glial cells in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum, in VPA and control animals. Female VPA pups showed alterations in the density of astrocytes and microglial cells between P21 and P42, with specific dynamics in each brain region. We also found a decrease in histone 3 acetylation in the cerebellum of female VPA pups at P14, suggesting that the changes in glial cell density could be due to alterations in the epigenetic developmental program. Finally, no differences in maternal behavior were found. Our results show that female VPA pups exhibit behavioral and inflammatory alterations postnatally, although they have been reported to have normal levels of sociability in adulthood. With our work, we contribute to the understanding of biological mechanisms underlying different effects of VPA on male and female rodents, and we hope to help elucidate whether there are factors increasing susceptibility to ASD in boys and/or resilience in girls.