REVIEW article
Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Developmental Endocrinology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1681190
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Abnormal Growth and Development: From Mechanisms to TherapeuticsView all articles
Pathophysiological Associations Between Maternal Immune Activation and Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Offspring: A Comprehensive Review
Provisionally accepted
Qing Tang1,2
Xiaofang Wang3
Fanqian Yang1,2
Lvyuan Liang1,2Yuxin Li1,2Wenbo Liu1,2
Rongyi Zhou1,2*
Bingxiang Ma1,2*- 1The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, China
- 2Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, China
- 3Hebei University of Chinese Medicine Hebei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, China
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Background: Maternal immune activation (MIA), triggered by infectious or non-infectious inflammatory stimuli, is a critical risk factor for offspring neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and has become a major focus in neurodevelopmental pathology research. Objective: This study systematically examined the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which MIA disrupts fetal neurodevelopment, aiming to clarify its impact on NDDs susceptibility and to provide a basis for basic research and clinical intervention. Methods: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus up to June 30, 2025. Both animal and human studies were included, while irrelevant or non-mechanistic reports were excluded. Reference lists of key articles were also screened manually to supplement the database search. Results: MIA induces systemic elevation of inflammatory cytokines that cross the placenta, activate fetal immune responses, and impair brain development. It suppresses neural stem/progenitor cell proliferation and accelerates premature differentiation, disrupts neuronal migration, alters deep-layer neuron density, and impairs GABAergic interneuron migration. These changes cause neurogenesis and cortical layering abnormalities,increasing the risk of NDDs in offspring, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and schizophrenia (SCZ). Conclusion: Inflammatory cytokines mediate MIA-induced disruptions in neural stem cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration, constituting the main mechanism of maternal impact on fetal neurodevelopment. This insight provides a basis for early diagnosis and precise prenatal intervention to reduce NDDs incidence and improve prognosis.
Keywords: maternal immune activation, neurodevelopment, endocrine, Neurodevelopmentaldisorders, Mechanism, immune response
Received: 07 Aug 2025; Accepted: 09 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tang, Wang, Yang, Liang, Li, Liu, Zhou and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Rongyi Zhou, zhourongyitcm@sina.com
Bingxiang Ma, mbx1963@126.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.