"Inhibiting that enzyme stops the inflammation and the development of autism-like and schizophrenia-like symptoms in animal models," said co-author Kenji Hashimoto, a professor with the Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Japan.

The work flows from the idea that development of disorders such as autism or schizophrenia can be influenced by infections during pregnancy that expose the developing fetus to inflammatory chemicals. These disorders also have a strong genetic component.

By inhibiting soluble epoxide hydrolase, the researchers reversed cognitive and social interaction deficiencies in the mice pups. This might be due to an increase in natural brain chemicals that prevent brain inflammation.

Maternal immune response and autism

"There is mounting evidence that inappropriate maternal immune responses during pregnancy to infection contributes elevated risk to autism spectrum disorder, at least in a fraction of cases," said Isaac Pessah, distinguished professor of molecular biosciences and associate dean of research and graduate education at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Pessah was not involved in the study.

The findings show that a mouse model of some of the symptoms in autistic children can be suppressed by inhibiting soluble epoxide hydrolase, a target not previously explored, Pessah said.

Additional authors on the paper are: Min Ma, Qian Ren, Kai Zhang, Zhongwei Xiong, Tamaki Ishima and Yaoyu Pu at the Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Japan; Sung Hee Hwang and Jun Yang, UC Davis; Manabu Toyoshima, Yoshimi Iwayama, Yasuko Hisano, Takeo Yoshikawa, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Japan. The work was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

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Materials provided by University of California - Davis. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. Min Ma, Qian Ren, Jun Yang, Kai Zhang, Zhongwei Xiong, Tamaki Ishima, Yaoyu Pu, Sung Hee Hwang, Manabu Toyoshima, Yoshimi Iwayama, Yasuko Hisano, Takeo Yoshikawa, Bruce D. Hammock, Kenji Hashimoto. Key role of soluble epoxide hydrolase in the neurodevelopmental disorders of offspring after maternal immune activation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019; 201819234 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1819234116