Cited by 193Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsStress Responses and CortisolNeurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms

Early life stress perturbs the maturation of microglia in the developing hippocampus

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Delpech, Jean-Christophe, Wei, Lan, Hao, Jin, Yu, Xiaoqing, Madore, Charlotte, Butovsky, Oleg, Kaffman, Arie·2016·Brain Behavior and Immunity

Abstract

Children exposed to abuse or neglect show abnormal hippocampal development and similar findings have been reported in rodent models. Using brief daily separation (BDS), a mouse model of early life stress, we previously showed that exposure to BDS impairs hippocampal function in adulthood and perturbs synaptic maturation, synaptic pruning, axonal growth and myelination in the developing hippocampus. Given that microglia are involved in these developmental processes, we tested whether BDS impairs microglial activity in the hippocampus of 14 (during BDS) and 28-day old mice (one week after BDS). We found that BDS increased the density and altered the morphology of microglia in the hippocampus of 14-day old pups, effects that were no longer present on postnatal day (PND) 28. Despite the normal cell number and morphology seen at PND28, the molecular signature of hippocampal microglia, assessed using the NanoString immune panel, was altered at both ages. We showed that during normal hippocampal development, microglia undergo significant changes between PND14 and PND28, including reduced cell density, decreased ex vivo phagocytic activity, and an increase in the expression of genes involved in inflammation and cell migration. However, microglia harvested from the hippocampus of 28-day old BDS mice showed an increase in phagocytic activity and reduced expression of genes that normally increase across development. Promoter analysis indicated that alteration in the transcriptional activity of PU.1, Creb1, Sp1, and RelA accounted for most of the transcriptional changes seen during normal microglia development and for most of the BDS-induced changes at PND14 and PND28. These findings are the first to demonstrate that early life stress dysregulates microglial function in the developing hippocampus and to identify key transcription factors that are likely to mediate these changes.

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Authors
Delpech, J.-C., Wei, L., Hao, J., Yu, X., Madore, C., Butovsky, O., & Kaffman, A.
Affiliations
  • Yale University (US)
  • Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
Corresponding author
Kaffman, Arie
Venue
Brain Behavior and Immunity
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2016-10
Volume
57
Pages
79-93
ISSN
0889-1591 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2419356453
Cited by
193
References
80
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 2
FWCI
8.76
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Brain Behavior and Immunity (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
  • Oskar-Bordeaux (Universite de Bordeaux) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • NIMH (R21MH098181, R01MH100078)
  • VA National Center for PTSD
  • NIH-NINDS (1R01NS088137)
  • National Multiple Sclerosis Society (5092A1)
  • Nancy Davis Foundation Faculty
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
Keywords
early life stress, microglia, hippocampus, microglial development, phagocytic activity, transcription factors, PU.1, CREB1, Sp1, RelA, neuroinflammation, synaptic pruning, child abuse, developmental programming
MeSH terms
Age Factors, Animals, Hippocampus, Maternal Deprivation, Mice, Inbred BALB C, Stress, Psychological, Microglia, Mice

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