Abstract
The immune system plays an important role in the communication between the human body and the environment, in early development as well as in adulthood. Per se, research has shown that factors such as maternal stress and nutrition as well as maternal infections can activate the immune system in the infant. A rising number of research studies have shown that activation of the immune system in early life can augment the risk of some psychiatric disorders in adulthood, such as schizophrenia and depression. The mechanisms of such a developmental programming effect are unknown; however some preliminary evidence is emerging in the literature, which suggests that adult hippocampal neurogenesis may be involved. A growing number of studies have shown that pre- and postnatal exposure to an inflammatory stimulus can modulate the number of proliferating and differentiating neural progenitors in the adult hippocampus, and this can have an effect on behaviours of relevance to psychiatric disorders. This review provides a summary of these studies and highlights the evidence supporting a neurogenic hypothesis of immune developmental programming.
Highlights
Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is a complex process which includes continuous renewal of the hippocampal stem cell pool and generation of new neurons in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus during adult life [1]
The mechanism of such developmental programming is unknown; some preliminary evidence is emerging in the literature which suggests that adult hippocampal neurogenesis may be involved
To summarise the findings described previously, perinatal inflammatory stimulation has a potential to modulate hippocampal neurogenesis in adult life
Summary
Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is a complex process which includes continuous renewal of the hippocampal stem cell pool and generation of new neurons in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus during adult life [1]. Early-life factors which are known to increase the risk of the disorder in adulthood, such as maternal anxiety and perinatal depression as well as Neural Plasticity traumatic postnatal life events, are associated with changes in the immune system [3, 6, 7]. This evidence suggests that environmental factors in early-life predispose individuals to the development of psychopathological conditions in adulthood, potentially via the activation of the immune system. The neurogenic hypothesis of immune developmental programming is still in its early days and this review will summarize the emerging supporting evidence available to date
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