| First Author | Nagano M | Year | 2021 |
| Journal | Sci Rep | Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 8883 |
| PubMed ID | 33903690 | Mgi Jnum | J:311375 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6707400 | Doi | 10.1038/s41598-021-88437-8 |
| Citation | Nagano M, et al. (2021) Cesarean section delivery is a risk factor of autism-related behaviors in mice. Sci Rep 11(1):8883 |
| abstractText | Cesarean section (C/S) is one way of delivering babies, and is chosen when mothers or babies are facing problems or life-threatening conditions during pregnancy. Many meta-analyses have suggested an etiological relationship between C/S delivery and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). However, as a risk factor for ASDs, C/S delivery has not yet been well studied. Because C/S deliveries have been increasing, it is very important to investigate the causal association between C/S and ASDs. Here, using three approaches, we showed experimentally that C/S delivery induced ASD-like traits in offspring mice, and that some of these changes were ameliorated by one-time oxytocin (OXT) treatment. Treatment with OXT receptor antagonists before natural delivery also induced ASD-related behaviors. Moreover, wild-type mice born to OXT-KO dams showed similar changes. Thus, insufficient OXT exposure from dams to offspring during delivery may be a trigger for ASD-related behaviors. |
