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Authors & Affiliations
Marianne Charlene Monet, Maria Smirnova, Ning Quan
Abstract
Early life stress (ELS) has profound and enduring effects on neurodevelopment and social functioning, contributing to the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. The interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R1) in the hippocampus plays a pivotal role in mediating the impact of stress on social behavior. However, the involvement of neuronal IL-1R1 (nIL-1R1) in ELS-induced social deficits remains poorly understood. This study aims to address this gap by utilizing a maternal separation (MS) paradigm and innovative cell-type-specific IL-1R1-expressing mouse lines to elucidate the role of nIL-1R1 in MS-induced long-lasting social interaction deficits. Our investigations revealed dynamic nIL-1R1 expression in the dentate gyrus (DG) during neurodevelopment, particularly within the first two outer granule cell layers from postnatal days 7 to 14. Repeated MS heightens nIL-1R1 and Δ-FosB expression in the DG and induces social interaction abnormalities in adulthood. Further, we found that glutamatergic nIL-1R1 plays a pivotal role in MS-induced neuronal and behavioral alterations. To evaluate whether nIL-1R1 is necessary or sufficient for MS-induced social deficits and decipher nIL-1R1-dependent transcriptomic changes in MS-exposed granule neurons, we assessed social interaction alterations in neonatal IL-1R1 reporter mice and nIL-1R1 expressing mice subjected to MS and employed spatial RNA-Seq (in DG) analysis to identify differential gene expression patterns associated with nIL-1R1 signaling. We seek to gain insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying ELS-induced social behavior difficulties. Unraveling nIL-1R1's role in social behavior deficits holds promise for therapeutic interventions, ultimately improving mental health outcomes for individuals affected by ELS and neurodevelopmental disorders.