Paternal high molecular weight poly I:C administration alters the sperm small non-coding RNA profile and offspring brain development and behavioural phenotype

sperm sncRNA profile showed upregulation of miR-141-3p and miR-200a-3p among 29 dysregulated sncRNAs. These results are distinct from previous LMW poly I:C administration studies, demonstrating sperm epigenome changes and subsequent offspring phenotypes may be highly specific to particular immune pathways and activation states. Our present data provide new insights into how PIA may be able to modulate brain development and function. These new findings contribute to our understanding of how paternal viral-like immune activation affects sperm and offspring phenotypes, with implications for the future prevention of the detrimental effects of such epigenetic inheritance.