---
title: "Live imaging shows sex- and time-dependent fetal microglial responses to prenatal maternal cold st"
id: "biorxiv-7-live-cell-imaging-of-fetal-microglia-reveals-time-dependent-sex-differences-in"
canonical_url: "https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/biorxiv-7-live-cell-imaging-of-fetal-microglia-reveals-time-dependent-sex-differences-in"
content_type: "clinical_feed_article"
specialty: "Neurology"
source_name: "bioRxiv (Biomedical Preprints)"
source_url: "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.23.761383v1?rss=1"
published_at: "2026-10-24T12:00:00.000Z"
evidence_level: "Verified Feed"
license: "CC-BY-NC-4.0 / Informational Use"
---
# Live imaging shows sex- and time-dependent fetal microglial responses to prenatal maternal cold st
## Provenance & Clinical Metadata
- **Canonical URL:** https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/biorxiv-7-live-cell-imaging-of-fetal-microglia-reveals-time-dependent-sex-differences-in
- **Specialty:** [Neurology](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/neurology.md)
- **Primary Source:** bioRxiv (Biomedical Preprints)
- **Source URL:** [Original Journal Publication](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.23.761383v1?rss=1)
- **Published At:** 2026-10-24T12:00:00.000Z
- **Evidence Rating:** Verified Feed
## Executive GIST (TL;DR)
- The study used live-cell imaging of the embryonic day 15.5 hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) to examine **fetal microglia** behavior under baseline and stress-exposed conditions. - Investigators applied a mouse model of prenatal maternal stress consisting of maternal exposure to cold from embryonic day 11.5 to 15.5; the source did not report additional exposure parameters or imaging acquisition settings. - Female PVN microglia increased branch complexity across the full live-video recordings after prenatal maternal cold stress, while male microglia displayed increased branching only at early time points. - Baseline sex differences were observed in phagocytic behavior: male microglia showed higher completed phagocytic events than female microglia under unstressed conditions. - Following prenatal maternal cold stress, males exhibited a decrease in completed phagocytic events in the PVN; females increased engagement in phagocytic activity but did not show a change in completed events. - Microglial motility was altered in female embryos at early time points after prenatal maternal cold stress; male motility did not show comparable changes according to the source. - The authors framed findings as evidence that fetal microglial physiology differs by sex both at baseline and in response to prenatal maternal cold stress, proposing a possible cellular basis for sex differences in neurodevelopmental disorders. - This report is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed; the source did not provide full methodological details such as imaging frame rates, quantitative thresholds for phagocytic events, or sample sizes in the abstract text provided here.
## Clinical Analysis & Structured Key Points
Live-cell imaging of fetal microglia reveals time-dependent sex differences in their responsiveness to prenatal maternal stress | bioRxiv Skip to main content New Results Live-cell imaging of fetal microglia reveals time-dependent sex differences in their responsiveness to prenatal maternal stress View ORCID Profile Alexandra Lawson , View ORCID Profile Matthew Rosin , View ORCID Profile Jessica M Rosin doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.23.761383 Alexandra Lawson University of British Columbia Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Alexandra Lawson Matthew Rosin University of British Columbia Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Matthew Rosin Jessica M Rosin University of British Columbia Find this author on Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for this author on this site ORCID record for Jessica M Rosin For correspondence: jessica.rosin{at}ubc.ca Abstract Info/History Metrics Supplementary material Preview PDF Abstract Prenatal maternal stress is increasingly being linked to neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), and across diverse maternal stressors, immune dysregulation is emerging as a common feature. This suggests that fetal microglia may influence neurodevelopment by detecting changes in signaling from the intrauterine environment. Using a mouse model of prenatal maternal stress, where pregnant mice were exposed to cold from embryonic day 11.5 (E11.5) to E15.5, we previously demonstrated that fetal microglia show region-specific and morphology-dependent sex differences in their responsiveness to prenatal maternal stress using static analyses. Here, we extend these analyses by conducting live-cell imaging on the E15.5 hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) to assess microglial morphology, motility, and phagocytic behavior in real-time under homeostatic conditions and in response to prenatal maternal cold stress exposure. Prenatal maternal cold stress induced sex- and time-specific changes in microglial morphology in the PVN, where female microglia showed increased branch complexity across the entire live-cell video recording, while male microglia only showed this response at early time-points. Interestingly, PVN microglia also showed baseline sex differences in phagocytic behavior, with male microglia showing higher phagocytic activity as compared to female microglia. In response to prenatal maternal cold stress, male microglia showed a decrease in completed phagocytic events in the PVN, whereas female microglia showed increased engagement in phagocytic activity with no change in completed phagocytic events. Microglial motility was also altered in the PVN of female embryos at early time-points in response to prenatal maternal cold stress, but no such changes were observed in males. Together, these data demonstrate that fetal microglia show sex differences in key physiologies both at baseline and in response to prenatal maternal cold stress. Through time-resolved assessment of microglial dynamics, our findings also suggest that microglial responsiveness to prenatal maternal cold stress differs between males and females, which may help to provide a cellular basis for sex differences observed across many NDDs. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funder Information Declared Canadian Neurodevelopmental Research Training Platform (CanNRT) , Fellowship Canadian Institutes of Health Research , GR028789 Canada Research Chairs, https://ror.org/0517h6h17 , Tier 2 CRC in Immune Regulation of Developmental Programs Michael Smith Health Research BC, https://ror.org/020x39229 , Scholar Copyright The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license . Back to top Previous Next Posted October 24, 2026. Download PDF Supplementary Material Email Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv. NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article. Your Email * Your Name * Send To * Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You are going to email the following Live-cell imaging of fetal microglia reveals time-dependent sex differences in their responsiveness to prenatal maternal stress Message Subject (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv Message Body (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website. Your Personal Message CAPTCHA This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. Share Live-cell imaging of fetal microglia reveals time-dependent sex differences in their responsiveness to prenatal maternal stress Alexandra Lawson , Matthew Rosin , Jessica M Rosin bioRxiv 2026.10.23.761383; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.23.761383 Share This Article: Copy Citation Tools Live-cell imaging of fetal microglia reveals time-dependent sex differences in their responsiveness to prenatal maternal stress Alexandra Lawson , Matthew Rosin , Jessica M Rosin bioRxiv 2026.10.23.761383; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.23.761383 Citation Manager Formats BibTeX Bookends EasyBib EndNote (tagged) EndNote 8 (xml) Medlars Mendeley Papers RefWorks Tagged Ref Manager RIS Zotero Tweet Widget Facebook Like Google Plus One Subject Areas All Articles Animal Behavior and Cognition (8164) Biochemistry (19027) Bioengineering (15171) Bioinformatics (45345) Biophysics (22958) Cancer Biology (20115) Cell Biology (27308) Clinical Trials (138) Developmental Biology (14146) Ecology (21400) Epidemiology (2067) Evolutionary Biology (25811) Genetics (16343) Genomics (23841) Immunology (19027) Microbiology (43196) Molecular Biology (18345) Neuroscience (95083) Paleontology (713) Pathology (3034) Pharmacology and Toxicology (5200) Physiology (8284) Plant Biology (16271) Scientific Communication and Education (2116) Synthetic Biology (4646) Systems Biology (10386) Zoology (2427)
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