Inflammatory Activity in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Adv Exp Med Biol. 2015:861:93-8. doi: 10.1007/5584_2015_145.

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder in early childhood characterized by impairment in communication and behavior. Recent research is focused on the immune dysregulation as a potential pathomechanism leading to ASD. Thus, we addressed the hypothesis that inflammatory activity might be enhanced in children suffering from ASD. We examined 15 children with ASD (13 boys/2 girls, mean age of 9.3 ± 0.7 years) and 20 age/gender-matched healthy subjects as a control group. All children were medication free and in good health. Hematological parameters in venous blood and plasma levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines - tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß), and interleukin 8 (IL-8) - were assessed in each subject using human ultra-sensitive ELISA kits. In addition, TBARS as a marker of oxidative stress was evaluated. We found that the level of IL-8 was significantly increased in the ASD children, whereas the other markers remained unappreciably changed compared to controls (p = 0.003). In conclusion, the study demonstrates a discrete immune dysfunction in ASD of pro-inflammatory character.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / blood
  • Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / complications*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Inflammation / blood
  • Inflammation / complications*
  • Interleukin-1beta / blood
  • Interleukin-8 / blood
  • Male
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / blood

Substances

  • Interleukin-1beta
  • Interleukin-8
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha