Dr. Andrienne Antonson: Blueprint for the Developing Brain: Cues from Microbes, Myeloid Cells, and the Maternal-Fetal Interface

Emerging evidence suggests that key neurodevelopmental processes are shaped by immune and microbial signals during the prenatal period. My work is based on the premise that disruptions to these signals can alter neurodevelopmental trajectories and increase vulnerability to lifelong mental health disorders. Using a clinically translatable mouse model of maternal influenza infection, we demonstrate that prenatal inflammatory insults compromise vascular integrity in both the placenta and fetal brain, allowing bloodborne molecules to cross transplacental and blood-brain barriers. These changes are associated with cortical thinning, altered fetal microglia and meningeal macrophage signaling, and shifts in circulating maternal and fetal microbial metabolites. Together, these findings highlight converging pathways through which maternal inflammation may influence fetal brain development and long-term psychiatric risk.