Role of a PTP1B Pathway in the Neuropsychiatric Expression of a Mouse Maternal Immune Activation Model

Abstract

Activation of the immune system in gestating mothers has been identified as an important environmental risk factor for neuropsychiatric disorders. Maternal immune activation (MIA) animal models have been used to explore how the maternal immune system may cause expression of pathophysiology in offspring. Protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP1B) is recruited during inflammation and its regulatory proteins are modulated in MIA. Disrupted regulation of PTP1B has been linked to mental disorders such as Rett Syndrome and anxiety. We asked if ablating neuronal PTP1B could protect from the expression of some neuropsychiatric phenotypes that appear in MIA models. In our MIA model induced with poly I:C injection at gestational day 9.5, we observed increased locomotion and sensorimotor gating and reduced anxiety in 3-month-old male offspring while females showed decreased sensorimotor gating. These effects were not replicated in PTP1B KO mice indicating a role of PTP1B in affecting locomotion and anxiety level in MIA. This model promotes a more balanced understanding of MIA and introduces PTP1B as a player in MIA-induced behaviour changes.