Influenza vaccination during early pregnancy contributes to neurogenesis and behavioral function in offspring.

Prenatal influenza virus infection has been associated with an increased
risk of schizophrenia. Thus, inactivated flu vaccines are widely
recommended for pregnant women. In a mouse model of pregnancy, immune
activation via exposure to viruses or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) impaired
brain development and behavioral function in offspring. The objective of
our study was to determine if flu vaccination as an immune activation
could affect postnatal neurogenesis and behavior. Female C57BL/6J
mice were administered A(H1N1) influenza vaccine (AIV) or seasonal
influenza vaccine (SIV) early in pregnancy. We found that the offspring
of vaccinated mice, especially AIV group, presented superior performance
in terms of exploratory behavior and spatial ability compared with
controls at postnatal day 28 (P28), but at P56, there was no
significance differences among these pups. Quantification of BrdU+/DCX+ and BrdU+/NeuN+
cells in the dentate gyrus (DG) indicated an increase in the
hippocampal neurogenesis of the pups born to both vaccinated mothers.
The cytokine levels in both the serum and hippocampus changed to varying
degrees. Furthermore, administration of the A(H1N1) vaccine blocked
LPS-induced cognitive impairment in the progeny. Altogether, the results
suggest that maternal influenza vaccination promotes neurogenesis and
behavioral function, as well as protection from LPS insults in the
developing offspring.

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