Poster #072
The Effect of Maternal Immune Activation on astrocyte coverage of the BBB.
Mentors: Hana Horackova, PhD; Yilin Liu, Cenk Akiz, Jennifer Alvarez, PI: Alexander, Bonnin
Pregnant women experiencing severe flu are highly susceptible to Maternal Immune Activation(MIA), leading to the abnormal formation of the fetal blood-brain barrier (BBB). Consequently, BBB leakage leads to chronic neuroinflammation, increasing the risk of neurological disorders such as schizophrenia later in life.
The BBB breakdown is due to alterations in the vascular structure. Components of the BBB that are responsible for maintaining barrier function such as pericytes, astrocytes and endothelial cells are compromised during this process. Previously, we observed that MIA induced at gestational day (GD) 13 led to decreased pericyte coverage of blood vessels at both GD15 and postnatal day (PD) 30. Since astrocytes develop postnatally, their role in BBB disruption following MIA remains unclear. This study investigates whether MIA also affects astrocyte coverage in the cortical BBB of offspring at PD30, aiming to fill the gap in understanding how MIA affects BBB integrity during postnatal brain development.