Microglia depletion prevents lactation by inhibition of prolactin secretion

Vivien Csikós; Szilvia Oláh; Fanni Dóra; Nikolett Arrasz; Melinda Cservenák; Arpád Dobolyi

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.106264

Microglia depletion prevents lactation by inhibition of prolactin secretion

iScience. 2023 Feb 24;26(3):106264. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106264. eCollection 2023 Mar 17.

Authors

Vivien Csikós¹, Szilvia Oláh¹, Fanni Dóra², Nikolett Arrasz¹, Melinda Cservenák¹, Arpád Dobolyi¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
² Laboratory of Neuromorphology, Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.

Abstract

Microglial cells were eliminated from the brain with sustained 3-4 weeks long inhibition of colony stimulating factor 1 receptor by Pexidartinib 3397 (PLX3397). The prepartum treated mice mothers did not feed their pups after parturition. The pups of mothers treated orally only in the postpartum period starting immediately after parturition showed reduced body weight by 15.5 ± 0.22 postnatal days as the treatment progressed without the mothers showing altered caring behaviors. The apparent weight gain of foster pups during a suckling bout was reduced in mother mice fed by PLX3397-containing diet and also in rat dams following sustained intracerebroventricular infusion of PLX3397 in a separate experiment suggesting that lactation was affected by the reduced number of microglia. Prolactin secretion and signaling were markedly reduced in PLX3397-treated mothers. The results suggest that microglial cells are required for prolactin secretion and lactation whereas maternal motivation may not be directly affected by microglia.

Keywords: Behavioral neuroscience; Endocrinology; Rodent behavior; Rodent physiology.