{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]],"date-time":"2026-06-02T15:35:26Z","timestamp":1780414526055,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,16]],"date-time":"2025-10-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1760572800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002367","name":"Chinese Academy of Science","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["E2G709R0Z1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["E2G709R0Z1"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002367","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipal","award":["24ZR1477800"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["24ZR1477800"]}]},{"name":"Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipal","award":["22YF1456800"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["22YF1456800"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100017291","name":"Zhongshan Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["CXTD2022013"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CXTD2022013"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100017291","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100017291","name":"Zhongshan Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2022B2016"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022B2016"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100017291","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Zhongshan Institute for Drug Discovery","award":["SQ2302-12"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SQ2302-12"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["CIMB"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Prenatal maternal immune activation (MIA) has been implicated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) pathogenesis, with interleukin-6 (IL-6) identified as a key inflammatory mediator. We investigated the therapeutic potential of IL-6 inhibition in an MIA mouse model induced by Toxoplasma gondii soluble tachyzoite antigen (STAg). Adult MIA offspring received systemic administration of the IL-6-neutralizing antibody (MP5-20F3) or isotype control, followed by behavioral assessments one week later. Open field and elevated plus maze tests revealed heightened anxiety-like behaviors in the STAg offspring, which were largely reversed by IL-6 inhibition. Reciprocal social interaction tests showed diminished sociability in the STAg offspring, which was partially restored by IL-6 inhibition. However, core ASD-like features, including impaired social preference and recognition in the three-chamber test, as well as increased repetitive behaviors, remained resistant to IL-6 inhibition. These findings demonstrate that STAg-induced MIA elicits anxiety-like and ASD-like phenotypes in adult offspring, with IL-6 playing an important role in anxiety-like behaviors and social interaction deficits. Systemic IL-6 inhibition partially ameliorates behavioral abnormalities. This study suggests that IL-6-targeted therapies may address a subset of ASD-related symptoms, and comprehensive strategies are needed for broader efficacy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cimb47100852","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,17]],"date-time":"2025-10-17T11:39:34Z","timestamp":1760701174000},"page":"852","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["IL-6 Inhibition Partially Ameliorates Maternal Immune Activation-Induced Autism-Like Behavioral Abnormalities in Mice"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"47","author":[{"given":"Xiaoyun","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Zhongshan Institute for Drug Discovery, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongshan 528400, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Weili","family":"Luo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 561113, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8796-7630","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kaiyue","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health, Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuping","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zhongshan Institute for Drug Discovery, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongshan 528400, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yan","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 561113, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8853-5303","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhipeng","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Offspring Health, Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zi-Kai","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zhongshan Institute for Drug Discovery, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongshan 528400, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 561113, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"230","DOI":"10.1016\/j.it.2022.01.007","article-title":"Maternal inflammation and its ramifications on fetal neurodevelopment","volume":"43","author":"Kwon","year":"2022","journal-title":"Trends Immunol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"564","DOI":"10.1038\/s41582-021-00530-8","article-title":"Maternal immune activation and neuroinflammation in human neurodevelopmental disorders","volume":"17","author":"Han","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nat. 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