Characterization of Lipopolysaccharide exposure in Caenorhabditis elegans: a possible model to study aspects of schizophrenia?

The human brain undergoes a prolonged sequence of events between its formation and maturation that begins approximately in the third week of gestation with differentiation of neural progenitor cells, neurons and glial cells and formation of the neural tube. Trauma, infections, exposure to toxins and nutritional deficits during the period of formation of the Central Nervous System can cause Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDD), such as schizophrenia. In preclinical models with rodents, it is possible to simulate infectious processes during pregnancy – a stablished environmental risk factor for the development of schizophrenia - with the use of lipopolysaccharides (LPS). However, these animal models are expensive andsome protocols require weeks to months to analyze its neurodevelopment. In this context, models using Caenorhabditis elegans emerge as an alternative between the complexity of a vertebrate organism, the simplicity of a cell, bringing a reduced cost and scientific validity. This elegant nematode has a rapid development cycle (72h) and 302 neurons, in addition to its completely mapped genome, allowing the production of several transgenic strains.