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Neurological disorders

A new dimension of autism

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 6, page 9 (2005)Cite this article

Immune dysfunction has been implicated as a potential mechanism for the pathogenesis of autism, but previous research has focused on immunological measures made outside the brain. In this study, the authors analysed pathological changes in brain tissues from 7 healthy controls and 11 patients with autism. They found that, compared with brain tissues from the healthy controls, tissues from the patients with autism showed extensive neuroglial responses in the frontal cortex, cingulate gyrus and cerebellum. These responses are characterized by activation of microglia and astroglia, which are the only immune-competent cells in the nervous system and are important in both innate and adaptive immune responses.

As there was no indication of lymphocyte infiltration or deposits of immunoglobulin and complement in the brain tissues of patients with autism, the immune activity probably reflects the neuroinflammatory reaction associated with the central nervous system's innate immune system. Consistent with this view, there was an increase in the expression of inflammatory cytokines, such as macrophage chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP1) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1), in tissue samples from these regions of the brains of patients with autism. Astroglia and, to a lesser degree, microglia, seemed to be the main sources of cytokine production.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Vargas, D. L. et al. Neuroglial activation and neuroinflammation in the brain of patients with autism. Annals Neurol. 15 November 2004 (10.1002/ana.20315)

FURTHER READING

  1. Folstein, S. E. & Rosen-Sheidley, B. Genetics of autism: complex aetiology for a heterogeneous disorder. Nature Rev. Genet. 2, 943–955 (2001)

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  1. Jane Qiu
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Qiu, J. A new dimension of autism. Nat Rev Neurosci 6, 9 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1598

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