Prenatal levonorgestrel exposure induces autism-like behavior in offspring through ERβ suppression in the amygdala.
Yuanlin Zou, Qiaomei Lu, Dan Zheng and 15 others
PMID 28824796WHAT IT FOUND
Prenatal levonorgestrel exposure, with or without ethinyl estradiol, produced autism-like behavior in rats and suppressed ERβ, a brain estrogen receptor, in the amygdala.
Ethinyl estradiol alone did not, and ERβ overexpression reversed the behavior.
Key findings
01Prenatal levonorgestrel alone or combined with ethinyl estradiol suppressed ERβ, SOD2, and ERRα in the amygdala of male offspring, while ethinyl estradiol alone had no effect.
02Prenatal levonorgestrel and levonorgestrel with ethinyl estradiol increased DNA methylation and H3K9me2 and H3K27me3 at the ERβ promoter in amygdala neurons.
03ERβ overexpression in the amygdala normalized prenatal levonorgestrel exposure-induced autism-like behavior, while ERβ knockdown produced similar behavior in vehicle-treated offspring.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study was done in rats, not people, so it does not show what happens in human pregnancy. The authors state that the high hormone doses and long treatment duration limit applicability to humans. Autism-like behavior in rats is not a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. The paper reports no human participants and no clinical outcomes. The supplied text does not include a conflicts-of-interest or funding declaration.
Declared interests
The supplied article text does not include a conflicts-of-interest or funding declaration. The supplied publication types include research support, non-U.S. government.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that oral contraceptives cause autism in humans. The work is a rat model, and the authors state that high doses and long duration limit applicability to humans.