BackgroundRecent literatures indicate that maternal hormone exposure is a risk factor for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We hypothesize that prenatal progestin exposure may counteract the neuroprotective effect of estrogen and contribute to ASD development, and we aim to develop a method to ameliorate prenatal progestin exposure-induced autism-like behavior.MethodsExperiment 1: Prenatal progestin exposure-induced offspring are treated with resveratrol (RSV) through either prenatal or postnatal exposure and then used for autism-like behavior testing and other biomedical analyses. Experiment 2: Prenatal norethindrone (NET) exposure-induced offspring are treated with ERβ knockdown lentivirus together with RSV for further testing. Experiment 3: Pregnant dams are treated with prenatal NET exposure together with RSV, and the offspring are used for further testing.ResultsEight kinds of clinically relevant progestins were used for prenatal exposure in pregnant dams, and the offspring showed decreased ERβ expression in the amygdala with autism-like behavior. Oral administration of either postnatal or prenatal RSV treatment significantly reversed this effect with ERβ activation and ameliorated autism-like behavior. Further investigation showed that RSV activates ERβ and its target genes by demethylation of DNA and histone on the ERβ promoter, and then minimizes progestin-induced oxidative stress as well as the dysfunction of mitochondria and lipid metabolism in the brain, subsequently ameliorating autism-like behavior.ConclusionsWe conclude that resveratrol ameliorates prenatal progestin exposure-induced autism-like behavior through ERβ activation. Our data suggest that prenatal progestin exposure is a strong risk factor for autism-like behavior. Many potential clinical progestin applications, including oral contraceptive pills, preterm birth drugs, and progestin-contaminated drinking water or seafood, may be risk factors for ASD. In addition, RSV may be a good candidate for clinically rescuing or preventing ASD symptoms in humans, while high doses of resveratrol used in the animals may be a potential limitation for human application.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13229-018-0225-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been found to be associated with immune dysfunction and elevated cytokines, although the detailed mechanism remains unknown. In this study, we aim to investigate the potential mechanisms through a maternal diabetes-induced autistic mouse model. We found that maternal diabetes-induced autistic offspring have epigenetic changes on the superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) promoter with subsequent SOD2 suppression in both hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Bone marrow transplantation of normal HSC to maternal diabetes-induced autistic offspring transferred epigenetic modifications to PBMC and significantly reversed SOD2 suppression and oxidative stress and elevated inflammatory cytokine levels. Further, in vivo human study showed that SOD2 mRNA expression from PBMC in the ASD group was reduced to ~12% compared to typically developing group, and the SOD2 mRNA level-based ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) curve shows a very high sensitivity and specificity for ASD patients. We conclude that maternal diabetes induces immune dysfunction in autistic offspring through SOD2 suppression and oxidative stress in HSC. SOD2 mRNA expression in PBMC may be a good biomarker for ASD diagnosis.