Amniotic fluid inflammatory cytokines: Potential markers of immunologic dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders

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Amniotic fluid inflammatory cytokines: Potential markers of immunologic

dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22175527>

Abdallah MW, Larsen N, Grove J, Nørgaard-Pedersen B, Thorsen P,

Mortensen EL, Hougaard DM.

World J Biol Psychiatry. 2011 Dec 19.

Objectives. The aim of the study was to analyze cytokine profiles in

amniotic fluid (AF) samples of children developing autism spectrum

disorders (ASD) and controls, adjusting for maternal autoimmune

disorders and maternal infections during pregnancy. Methods. AF samples

of 331 ASD cases and 698 controls were analyzed for inflammatory

cytokines using Luminex xMAP technology utilizing a historic birth

cohort. Clinical data were retrieved from nationwide registers, and

case-control differences in AF cytokine levels were assessed using

chi-square tests, logistic and tobit regression models. Results.

Overall, individuals with ASD had significantly elevated AF levels of

TNF-? and TNF-? compared to controls. Analyzing individuals diagnosed

only with ICD-10 codes yielded significantly elevated levels of IL-4,

IL-10, TNF-? and TNF-? in ASD patients. Restricting analysis to

infantile autism cases showed significantly elevated levels of IL-4,

TNF-? and TNF-? compared to controls with no psychiatric comorbidities.

Elevated levels of IL-6 and IL-5 were found in individuals with other

childhood psychiatric disorders (OCPD) when compared to controls with no

psychiatric comorbidities. Conclusions. AF samples of individuals with

ASD or OCPD showed differential cytokine profiles compared to

frequency-matched controls. Further studies to examine the specificity

of the reported cytokine profiles in ASD and OCPD are required.