Maternal Vitamin D Prevents Abnormal Dopaminergic Development and Function in a Mouse Model of Prenatal Immune Activation

Dysfunction in dopamine (DA) systems is a prominent feature in schizophrenia patients and may result from the abnormal development of mesencephalic (mes)DA systems. Maternal immune activation (MIA) and developmental vitamin D (DVD)-deficiency both induce schizophrenia-relevant dopaminergic abnormalities in adult offspring. In this study, we investigated whether maternal administration of the vitamin D hormone (1,25OHD, VIT(D)) could prevent MIA-induced abnormalities in DA-related behaviors and mesDA development. We administrated the viral mimetic polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidylic (poly (I:C)) simultaneously with 1,25OHD and/or their vehicles, to pregnant mouse dams at gestational day 9. Maternal treatment with VIT(D) prevented MIA-induced hypersensitivity to acute DA stimulation induced by amphetamine, whereas it failed to block prepulse inhibition deficiency in MIA-exposed offspring. MIA and VIT(D) both reduced fetal mesDA progenitor (Lmx1a + Sox2+) cells, while VIT(D) treatment increased the number of mature (Nurr1 + TH+) mesDA neurons. Single-cell quantification of protein expression showed that VIT(D) treatment increased the expression of Lmx1a, Nurr1 and TH in individual mesDA cells and restored normal mesDA positioning. Our data demonstrate that VIT(D) prevents abnormal dopaminergic phenotypes in MIA offspring possibly via its early neuroprotective actions on fetal mesDA neurons. Maternal supplementation with the dietary form of vitamin D, cholecalciferol may become a valuable strategy for the prevention of MIA-induced neurodevelopmental abnormalities.