Michelle Dawson posts
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Masatoshi Nagano, Fumihito Saitow, Shinpei Higo, Makoto Uzuki, Yasunori Mikahara, Toshio Akimoto, Hitoshi Ozawa, Katsuhiko Nishimori, et al. (2021). Cesarean section delivery is a risk factor of autism-related behaviors in mice. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 8883. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
Abstract
Abstract Cesarean section (C/S) is one way of delivering babies, and is chosen when mothers or babies are facing problems or life-threatening conditions during pregnancy. Many meta-analyses have suggested an etiological relationship between C/S delivery and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). However, as a risk factor for ASDs, C/S delivery has not yet been well studied. Because C/S deliveries have been increasing, it is very important to investigate the causal association between C/S and ASDs. Here, using three approaches, we showed experimentally that C/S delivery induced ASD-like traits in offspring mice, and that some of these changes were ameliorated by one-time oxytocin (OXT) treatment. Treatment with OXT receptor antagonists before natural delivery also induced ASD-related behaviors. Moreover, wild-type mice born to OXT-KO dams showed similar changes. Thus, insufficient OXT exposure from dams to offspring during delivery may be a trigger for ASD-related behaviors.
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