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Authors & Affiliations
Martina Giudice, Antonella Camaioni, Anna Maria Tartaglione, Vita Petrone, Claudia Matteucci, Gemma Calamandrei, Paola Sinibaldi-Vallebona, Laura Ricceri, Emanuela Balestrieri, Chiara Cipriani
Abstract
Several adverse intrauterine conditions during pregnancy may increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) have been proposed as co-factors in the pathogenesis of ASD, also potentially useful as early biomarkers of derailed neurodevelopment. Two preclinical models of ASD, the inbred BTBR T+tf/J (BTBR) mice, and mice prenatally exposed to valproic acid, showed an altered expression of several ERVs and cytokines, in embryos, blood and brain samples at different post-natal ages. The present study aimed to characterize the transcriptional profile of selected ERVs and inflammatory mediators at the maternal-fetal interface and in dissected embryos from BTBR and C57BL6/J (C57) mice, used as control. For this purpose, whole embryos were explanted at 10.5 gestational day, separated from maternal tissues, and dissected to obtain: cephalic and non-cephalic embryonic tissues, maternal decidua and extra-embryonic tissues. The expression of several ERVs and inflammatory mediators was assessed by Real-Time PCR. Our results showed a global deregulation of ERVs and selected inflammatory mediators in maternal decidua and extra-embryonic tissues, respectively maternal and fetal compartments of the neo-forming placenta, and cephalic and non-cephalic embryonic tissues obtained from BTBR mice compared to C57. Several correlations among all ERV expression levels emerged in different tissues obtained from C57 mice, particularly in cephalic and non-cephalic ones, while in BTBR mice, most of the correlations were lost. Our study provides new insights into the transcriptional landscape of ERVs and inflammatory mediators in intra-uterine life supporting the involvement of ERVs in neurodevelopmental derailment related to ASD.