Figure 1.

Experimental design for evaluating the ameliorative effects of Parabacteroides goldsteinii (Pg) MTS01 on the aberrant behaviors of offspring with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced maternal immune activation (MIA). On gestation days (GD) 15, 16, and 17, pregnant mice were subcutaneously (SC) injected with 25, 25, and 50 μg/kg LPS, respectively. In the control group, pregnant mice were injected with phosphate-buffered saline. Female mice offspring were selected and grouped. Mouse offspring were orally gavaged with live Pg MTS01 at 1 × 10⁹ colony-forming units (cfu) per day for 5 days per week from week 4 through to the end of the experiment. For anxiety-like behavior assessments, the open-field test (OFT), light–dark box (LDB) test, and elevated plus maze (EPM) test were conducted at the ages of 5, 6, and 8 weeks, respectively. Regarding the social behavioral deficits evaluation, the home cage test (HCT) and three-chamber behavioral test (3-CBT) were performed at 6 and 9 weeks of age, respectively.