Inflammation during pregnancy could directly affect how a baby’s brain develops, according to new research from the University of Aberdeen.
Scientists have developed a 3D brain tissue model, known as a “cerebroid”, to study early brain development and identify how inflammatory signals may shape the growing brain in utero.
The work offers new insight into neurodevelopment and the biological processes that may influence the developing brain.
It was co-led by Dr Eunchai Kang and Dr Daniel Berg from the University of Aberdeen’s Institute of Medical Sciences.
Inflammation and infection during pregnancy have long been linked to a higher risk of neurodevelopmental conditions, but the exact pathways have been difficult to study because of the complexity of human brain development.
To tackle this, the Aberdeen team developed the cerebroid, a 3D human brain tissue model that more closely replicates the cellular organisation and structure of the developing brain than traditional cell cultures.
The model allowed researchers to examine the effects of an inflammatory signal associated with immune responses during pregnancy.
They discovered that the signal acts directly on neural stem cells, altering the production and maturation of neurons in the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for many higher cognitive functions.
The signal altered the structure of developing brain tissue and changed the timing of neuron production and maturation.
The team also identified an important biological process behind these effects and showed that blocking it could reverse many of the changes they observed.
The researchers say the cerebroid model could also be used to examine other environmental factors that may affect early brain growth.
The study was published in Nature Neuroscience and funded by UKRI (BBSRC).
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Dr Eunchai Kang, co-lead author of the study, said: “Our findings show that an inflammatory signal associated with maternal immune activation can directly affect neural stem cells during very early stages of human brain development.
“Using our new cerebroid model, we were able to observe changes in the developing cerebral cortex and uncover some of the biological mechanisms that may be involved.”
Dr Daniel Berg said: “While there is still much to learn, this work provides a valuable new way to study how environmental influences affect the developing brain and could help inform future research in this area.”
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