Proteome analysis of cumulative antenatal and postnatal environmental exposure in the brain of mice

Environmental exposures across critical developmental windows can significantly influence brain development and contribute to the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Importantly, emerging clinical evidence suggests that multiple environmental factors during early development result in more pronounced disease phenotypes in offspring. To expand upon this existing notion, we developed a ‘triple-hit’ mouse model to examine the combined effects of maternal social stress, chronic high-fat diet consumption, and early life poly(I:C) exposure on long-term developmental outcomes in offspring. We observed that ‘triple-hit’ male offspring displayed autism-like social deficits and an overall increased susceptibility to NDD-like behavioural alterations in adulthood. Single-cell RNA (scRNA) transcriptomic and bulk proteomic analyses were performed in male triple hit offspring in brain tissue. The results are discussed in the associated publication.