Influence of maternal gastrointestinal nematode infection on offspring hippocampal gene expression.

We have previously observed that maternal infection with the murine intestinal nematode, Heligmosomoides bakeri, enhanced spatial memory in two and three-week old uninfected male and female mouse offspring. As the hippocampus is involved in spatial navigation and memory, the goal of this study was to assess changes in the gene expression profile in the hippocampus of 23-day old male and female offspring in response to maternal H. bakeri infection.