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Updated: Jun 22, 2025
Induction of Maternal Immune Activation in Mice at Mid-gestation Stage with Viral Mimic PolyI:C
Published on: March 25, 2016
Vortioxetine improved schizophrenia-like behavioral deficits in a Poly I:C-induced maternal immune activation model
Mehmet Taskiran1, Sacide Yildiz Taskiran2, Gokhan Unal3
1Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey.
Background:
Several studies provide clear evidence that exposure to various infections during pregnancy are linked with an increased risk for schizophrenia. In preclinical studies, administration of polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (Poly I:C) in pregnant rodents can induce maternal immune activation leading to impairments in brain function in the offspring.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of vortioxetine, a multimodal selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), in the pathophysiology of Poly I:C-induced schizophrenia-like model in rats.
Methods:
For this purpose, Poly I:C (8 mg/kg, ip) was injected into pregnant animals 14 days after mating, and tail blood was taken for determination of IL-6 levels after 2 h. At postnatal days 83-86, behavioral tests were performed.
Results:
Our results revealed that Poly I:C caused impairments in prepulse inhibition, novel object recognition, social interaction, and open-field tests. Chronic administration of vortioxetine (2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg, ip, postnatal days 69-83) caused significant improvements in these deficits.
Conclusion:
Overall, our findings indicate that vortioxetine may provide new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of schizophrenia. We think that increased serotonergic activity in frontal brain regions may provide the ameliorative effect of vortioxetine, especially on negative and cognitive symptoms. Therefore, it will be useful to determine the efficacy of vortioxetine with combined drugs with further studies.
