pollutants & Autism's de novo Mutations, Scattered Across Many Genes, Merge Into Common Network of Interactions

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eg

Micronuclei in neonates and children: effects of environmental, genetic,

demographic and disease variables.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21164182>

Holland N, Fucic A, Merlo DF, Sram R, Kirsch-Volders M.

Mutagenesis. 2011 Jan;26(1):51-6.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/21164182/?tool=pubmed

Children may be more susceptible to the effects of the environmental

exposure and medical treatments than adults; however, limited

information is available about the differences in genotoxic effects in

children by age, sex and health status. Micronucleus (MN) assay is a

well established method of monitoring genotoxicity, and this approach is

thoroughly validated for adult lymphocytes by the Human Micronucleus

Biomonitoring project (HUMN.org). Similar international undertaking is

in progress for exfoliated buccal cells. Most of the MN studies in

children are focused on analyses of lymphocytes but in the recent years,

more investigators are interested in using exfoliated cells from the

oral cavity and other cell types that can be collected non-invasively,

which is particularly important in paediatric cohorts. The baseline MN

frequency is relatively low in newborns and its assessment requires

large cohorts and cell sample counts. */Available results are mostly

consistent in conclusion that environmental pollutants and radiation

exposures lead to the increase in the MN frequency in children/*...

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Autism Mutations, Scattered Across Many Genes, Merge Into Common

Network of Interactions

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120404133700.htm

ScienceDaily (Apr. 4, 2012) — UW researchers have announced their

findings from a major study looking into the genetic basis of autism

spectrum disorders (ASD) with an approach piloted at the UW.

The researchers have been studying ASD in children who have no family

history of this or related impairments -- so called " sporadic autism " --

and also why autism varies in its symptoms and severity. By focusing on

" sporadic autism, " the researchers sought to evaluate a specific genetic

model for ASD risk, namely the appearance of new mutations (termed de

novo) in children with ASD that were not found in either parent.

.. Their results are reported in the April 4 advanced online edition of

the journal Nature....

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J. O’Roak et al*

Sporadic autism exomes reveal a highly interconnected protein network of

de novo mutations*. /

Nature/, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nature10989

<http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature10989>