Journal
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
Volume 11, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
NATURE RESEARCH
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88437-8
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Funding
- MEXT KAKENHI [17K10085]
- Strategic Research Program for Brain Sciences from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED, Japan) [JP18dm0107076]
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [17K10085] Funding Source: KAKEN
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This study experimentally demonstrated that cesarean section may induce autism-like traits in offspring mice, and some of these changes were ameliorated by oxytocin treatment. Blocking oxytocin receptors before natural delivery also induced autism-related behaviors. Insufficient oxytocin exposure from dams to offspring during delivery may be a trigger for autism-related behaviors.
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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