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Pregnancy History and Loss of Normal PSEN2 Function Impact Female Late-Life Cognitive Processing, Inhibitory Signaling, and Gliosis
Fang JI, Lehmann L, Prater KE, Barker-Haliski M.. bioRxiv, 2026-10-30
Topic: Genetics and APOE
Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is well-documented to be more progressive in affected females. It is thus critical to define how female-specific life experiences interact with AD-related risk factors to impact disease trajectory and functional burden. For example, pregnancy exerts dramatic influences on the maternal immune system, behavior, and neuroplasticity, specifically in hippocampal and limbic structures. The long-term clinical impacts from pregnancy history (parity) on late-life AD outcomes are, however, conflicting. Thus, we investigated the late-life functional impacts of parity on rodent cognitive function, inhibitory neuron density, and glial biology with loss of normal function of the AD-related risk factor, presenilin 2 (PSEN2). Methods. Female PSEN2 knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice with (multiparous) and without (nulliparous) pregnancy history were challenged at 10-15 months-old in the T-maze (TM) and Open Field Test (OFT), followed by immunofluorescence for neuronal signaling and gliosis markers. Results. Neither parity history nor PSEN2 deficiency impacted hippocampally-mediated spatial working memory of aged female mice in the TM. However, both PSEN2 KO and multiparous mice exhibited decreased OFT locomotor behavior. Multiparous mice also showed reduced OFT center zone exploration (p=0.0045) suggesting a more anxious phenotype. Parity history generally increased inhibitory marker expression in dorsal hippocampus (p=0.017), prefrontal cortex (p=0.021), and amygdala (p=0.035). Parity generally blunted oligodendrocyte marker expression in CA1 (p<0.05), while boosting astrocyte and microglia marker expression in CA3 of dorsal hippocampus. Conclusion. This work suggests that although parity history and PSEN2 deficiency exert individual differing age-related effects on cognition and neurobiology, they do not act synergistically.
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APA 7th
Fang, J. I., Lehmann, L., Prater, K. E., & Barker-Haliski, M. (2026). Pregnancy History and Loss of Normal PSEN2 Function Impact Female Late-Life Cognitive Processing, Inhibitory Signaling, and Gliosis. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.28.762624
Vancouver
Fang JI, Lehmann L, Prater KE, Barker-Haliski M. Pregnancy History and Loss of Normal PSEN2 Function Impact Female Late-Life Cognitive Processing, Inhibitory Signaling, and Gliosis. bioRxiv. 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.10.28.762624.
BibTeX
@article{fang2026-7e17688f,
author = {Fang, J. I. and Lehmann, L. and Prater, K. E. and Barker-Haliski, M.},
title = {{Pregnancy History and Loss of Normal PSEN2 Function Impact Female Late-Life Cognitive Processing, Inhibitory Signaling, and Gliosis}},
journal = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.28.762624},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.28.762624}
}
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Key findings
- This work suggests that although parity history and PSEN2 deficiency exert individual differing age-related effects on cognition and neurobiology, they do not act synergistically.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 21 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multicenter collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 21 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (bioRxiv) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multicenter collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 13 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 21 out of 100. |
| Total | 21 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
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