Custódio, Charllyany Sabino, Mello, Bruna Stefânia Ferreira, Chaves Filho, Adriano José Maia, Lima, Camila Nayane de Carvalho, Cordeiro, Rafaela Carneiro, Miyajima, Fábio Miyajima, Vasconcelos, Silvânia Maria Mendes, Barichello, Tatiana, Quevedo, João, Oliveira, Antônio Carlos de, Lucena, David Freitas de, Réus, Gislaine Z., and Macedo, Danielle S.
Early-life challenges, particularly infections and stress, are related to neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. Here, we conducted a wide range of behavioral tests in periadolescent (postnatal day (PN) 35) and adult (PN70) Swiss mice neonatally challenged with LPS on PN5 and -7, to unveil behavioral alterations triggered by LPS exposure. Immune and neurotrophic (brain-derived neurotrophic factor—BDNF) alterations were determined in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus (HC), and hypothalamus (HT). Since the incidence and clinical manifestations of neurodevelopmental disorders present significant sex-related differences, we sought to distinctly evaluate male and female mice. While on PN35, LPS-challenged male mice presented depressive, anxiety-like, repetitive behavior, and working memory deficits; on PN70, only depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors were observed. Conversely, females presented