USF receives grant for studying ways to protect fetal brain from maternal infection

Fetal brain can suffer damage from maternal infections

University of South Florida (USF) neuroscientists have been awarded a $400,000 federal grant to study ways of protecting the developing fetal brain from the damaging effects of maternal infections, a suspected cause for certain types of autism.

The two-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health was awarded to Jun Tan, MD, PhD, the Silver Chair in USF Health Developmental Neurobiology and professor of psychiatry at the Silver Child Development Center, USF Department of Psychiatry.

Recent USF studies have uncovered a natural citrus molecule, luteolin, and a related compound, diosmin, which may protect the developing fetal brain from the harmful results of maternal infections, including inflammation that can disrupt brain development. Dr. Tan, the new grant's principal investigator, and his team found when either luteolin or diosmin were given to pregnant mice, the detrimental effects of maternal infection on their offspring could be reduced.

"These agents appear to block the activation of the mother's immune system," said Dr. Tan. "With this NIH grant, we will be able to further examine whether the over-activation of a signaling pathway could be responsible for the structural changes in the brains of offspring. We are going to test diosmin's potential to block autism-like brain changes in the offspring."

These studies could lay the foundation for using diosmin and related compounds, such as luteolin, as a preventative treatment for mothers at high risk of certain infections, Dr. Tan said. "Much like folate is currently given to pregnant mothers in prenatal vitamins to avoid neural tube defects in their children, these compounds could potentially be used to prevent maternal infections from causing harmful types of brain inflammation associated with autism in children."