Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci.  2021 Feb;19(1):84-92. 10.9758/cpn.2021.19.1.84.

Effects of the Prenatal Administration of Tetanus Toxoid on the Sociability and Explorative Behaviors of Rat Offspring: A Preliminary Study

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Istanbul Training and Education Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
  • 2Department of Pediatrics, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey
  • 3Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University, Tekirdağ, Turkey
  • 4Department of Physiology, Katip Çelebi University Medical School, Izmir, Turkey
  • 5Department of Radiation Oncolgy, Kartal Education and Research Hospital, Turkey
  • 6Department of Physiology, Demiroğlu Bilim University Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract


Objective
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a severely disabling psychiatric disease characterized by impairments in communication and social skills. Although efforts have been made to explore the etiology of ASD, its pathophysiology remains unclear. This issue is rendered more challenging by confounding data about the effects of vaccination on disease etiology. In this study, therefore, we investigated the neurodevelopmental effects of maternal tetanus toxoid administration on rat offspring. We hypothesized that the vaccine affects the sociability and preference for social novelty of rat offspring as well as the production of immunological and neurotrophic factors, including tumor necrosis factor-alfa (TNF-α), neuregulin-1 (NRG-1), neuron growth factor (NGF), and oxytocin.
Methods
The study involved 12 female and 4 male adult Sprague−Dawley rats (238 ± 10 g), which were assigned to two groups. Group 1 (control group) was given 0.5 ml of normal saline (0.9% NaCl) on the 10th day of pregnancy, whereas Group 2 (experimental group) was administered 0.5 ml of tetanus vaccine (tetanus toxoid, 40 IU).
Results
Maternal tetanus toxoid administration exerted beneficial effects on the sociability and explorative behaviors of the rats. The brain tissue levels of TNF-α, NGF, NRG-1, and oxytocin were higher in the experimental group than those among the controls. All these significant differences were found in both the male and female rats.
Conclusion
This study is the first to demonstrate the advantages of tetanus toxoid administration in relation to the sociability and explorative behaviors of rat offspring. The results showed that the vaccine also influences NRG-1, neuregulin, and oxytocin production.

Keyword

Autism; Vaccination; Tetanus; Inflammation; Neurogenesis
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