Kathryn Lenz, an associate professor of psychology, poses for a picture in her lab in Cunz Hall. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Photo Editor
An Ohio State researcher studying sex discrepancies in specific brain-based disorders discovered that pregnant rats exposed to a certain allergen have babies with an altered sex.
Kathryn Lenz, an associate professor of psychology at Ohio State and lead researcher on the study, is currently researching if prenatal allergen exposure influences the relationship between brain-based disorders — such as autism — and sex. In the process, Lenz and her team discovered that rats exposed to a specific allergen in utero behaved as the opposite sex.
“Autism is extremely sex-biased and prevalent, it’s four, up to eight times, more common in males than in females and we don’t know why,” Lenz said. “In my lab, we are trying to use rodent models to try and come to some greater understanding of why that might be.”
Lenz said that epidemiology studies done within the human population have shown a correlation between exposure to inflammation in the early life of a fetus and the onset of autism. Viruses like maternal flu, bacterial infections, autoimmune conditions or allergies in mothers, can all increase the risk of autism in their children.
According to Lenz, researchers induced an “allergy attack” in the pregnant rats and then examine the brain development in the rats’ offspring. They paid special attention to how it affects males and females differently, which is what led to the discovery that an allergen can alter a rat’s perception of its sex.
“We looked at this area of the brain called the preoptic area that usually shows pretty big sex differences,” Lenz said. “We found that if [the mother rat] was exposed to this allergen both males and females show some changes in brain development.”
Females and males were both attracted to the odors and cage bedding of their same sex, rather than the typical rat behavior of being attracted to the opposite. There were also differences in mating preferences, such as females mounting other females, Lenz said. Both changes have appeared to be permanent and will last a lifetime.
Though it is still in the preliminary stages, Lenz and her team’s research could ultimately influence how pregnant women are advised regarding allergen exposure and pinpoint where in the gestational period their babies are at risk for certain cognitive disorders, Lenz said.
Lindsay Pickett, another researcher on the study from the University of Maryland, said this research could link conception and delivery dates to seasonal allergies that may affect unborn babies’ brain development.
“These underlying mechanisms that are at a very basic level are a very good starting point for understanding the types of allergens that we should avoid during pregnancy,” Pickett said.
Lenz said her team is also conducting studies more targeted at modeling behavioral disorders such as attention deficit and impulsivity disorders, where they look at their relationship with prenatal allergen exposure.
Though she hopes someday this research will be applied to humans, Lenz said in the meantime, they are continuing several studies involving rodents that have proven there are several relationships between brain disorders and allergens.
“In terms of autism spectrum disorders, there is a lot of evidence of gender dysphoria and gender identity variance in people with autism,” Lenz said. “[These studies] might hold a key into one component of how autism develops in some people.”
