Alterations on the innate inflammatory response may underlie the pathophysiology of psychiatric diseases, but the mechanisms implicated remain elusive. Current antipsychotics modulate pro/anti-inflammatory pathways, but the specific mechanisms involved remain elusive. One attractive possibility is the regulation of the intracellular signalling pathways of the innate immune receptors Toll-like 3 (TLR3), which triggers antiviral and inflammatory responses.

To elucidate the regulatory role of paliperidone on maternal immune activation (MIA) induced alterations on TLR3 pathway and on the two emerging endogenous antiinflammatory/antioxidant mechanisms NRF2/antioxidant enzymes pathway and the cytokine milieu regulating M1/M2 polarization in microglia.

Pregnant mice were treated with the synthetic Toll-like Receptor 3 (TLR3) agonist Poly(I:C) in gestational day 9 and chronically treated with paliperidone (0,05mg/kg i.p.) in adult offspring. Animals were sacrificed one day after treatment and behavioral test. Inflammation oxidative stress-related mediators were analysed at mRNA and protein level in prefrontal cortex samples. In addition, behavioral test t-maze was conducted.

Paliperidone prevented TLR3 pathway activation and the subsequent MIA-induced neuroinflammatory response. Also, paliperidone induced an increment in the activity and protein expression of nuclear NRF2, as well as increased mRNA levels of the antioxidant enzymes HO1, SOD and catalase in the MIA model. Otherwise, paliperidone increases the antiinflammatory cytokines levels TGFβ and IL-10 in favour of a M2 microglia profile and increased the levels of the M2 cellular markers ArgI and FOLR2.

The modulation of neuroinflammation and enhancement of endogenous antioxidant/anti-inflammatory pathways by current and new antipsychotics could represent an interesting therapeutic strategy for the future.