Genes Participating in the Ensheathment of Neurons Are Affected by Postnatal Stress and Maternal Immune Activation in the Pituitary Gland

Abstract

Immune challenges during gestation are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and can interact with stress later in life. The pituitary gland participates in endocrine- and immune-related processes that influence development, growth, and reproduction and can modulate physiological and behavioral responses to challenges. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of stressors at different time points on the molecular mechanisms of the pituitary gland and detect sex differences. RNA sequencing was used to profile the pituitary glands of female and male pigs exposed to weaning stress and virally induced maternal immune activation (MIA), relative to unchallenged groups. Significant effects (FDR-adjusted p-value Mpz) and inhibitors of DNA binding 4 (Id4) among the non-stressed males exposed to MIA, relative to the control and non-MIA males exposed to weaning stress, relative to non-stressed pigs. The detection of changes in the molecular mechanisms of the pituitary gland could advance our understanding of disruptions in the formation of the myelin sheath and the transmission of neuron-to-neuron signals in behavioral disorders associated with maternal immune activation and stress.

Keywords

• RNA-seq
• pituitary gland
• ensheathment of neurons