Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2023 Oct;231:173630. doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2023.173630. Epub 2023 Aug 26.
Research suggests that certain gut and dietary factors may worsen behavioral features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Treatment with propionic acid (PPA) has been found to create both brain and behavioral responses in rats that are characteristic of ASD in humans. A consistent male bias in human ASD prevalence has been observed, and several sex-differential genetic and hormonal factors have been suggested to contribute to this bias. The majority of PPA studies in relation to ASD focus on male subjects; research examining the effects of PPA in females is scarce. The present study includes two experiments. Experiment 1 explored sex differences in the effects of systemic administration of PPA (500 mg/kg, ip) on adult rodent social behavior and anxiety (light-dark test). Experiment 2 investigated differential effects of systemic administration of PPA (500 mg/kg) on social behavior and anxiety in relation to fluctuating estrogen and progesterone levels during the adult rodent estrous cycle. PPA treatment impaired social behavior and increased anxiety in females to the same degree in comparison to PPA-treated males. As well, females treated with PPA in their diestrus phase did not differ significantly in comparison to females administered PPA in their proestrus phase, in terms of reduced social behavior and increased anxiety.
研究表明，某些肠道和饮食因素可能会使自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的行为特征恶化。已经发现，丙酸（PPA）的治疗在大鼠中产生了与人类 ASD 特征一致的大脑和行为反应。在人类 ASD 的流行中观察到一致的男性偏向，并且已经提出了几种性别差异的遗传和激素因素来促成这种偏向。与 ASD 相关的大多数 PPA 研究都集中在雄性对象上；关于雌性 PPA 影响的研究很少。本研究包括两个实验。实验 1 探讨了系统给予 PPA（500mg/kg，ip）对成年啮齿动物社会行为和焦虑（明暗测试）的影响中的性别差异。实验 2 研究了系统给予 PPA（500mg/kg）对成年啮齿动物发情周期中雌激素和孕激素水平波动时的社会行为和焦虑的差异影响。与 PPA 处理的雄性相比，PPA 处理同样降低了雌性的社会行为并增加了焦虑。此外，在发情前期给予 PPA 的雌性与在发情后期给予 PPA 的雌性相比，在减少的社会行为和增加的焦虑方面没有显著差异。
