From MIND - Elevated plasma cytokines in autism

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Brain Behav Immun. 2010 Aug 9. [Epub ahead of print]

Elevated plasma cytokines in autism spectrum disorders provide evidence of

immune dysfunction and are associated with impaired behavioral outcome.

Ashwood P, Krakowiak P, Hertz-Picciotto I, Hansen R, Pessah I, Van de Water J.

Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology,, , CA; The Medical

Investigation of Neuodevelopmental Disorders (M.I.N.D.) Institute, UC

Health System, Sacramento, CA.

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by impairment in social

interactions, communication deficits, and restricted repetitive interests and

behaviors. A potential role for immune dysfunction has been suggested in ASD. To

test this hypothesis, we investigated evidence of differential cytokine release

in plasma samples obtained from 2-5 year-old children with ASD compared with

age-matched typically developing (TD) children and children with developmental

disabilities other than autism (DD). Participants were recruited as part of the

population based case-control CHARGE (Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and

Environment) study and included: 97 participants with a confirmed diagnosis of

ASD using standard assessments (DSM IV criteria and ADOS, ADI-R), 87 confirmed

TD controls, and 39 confirmed DD controls. Plasma was isolated and cytokine

production was assessed by multiplex Luminex analysis. Observations indicate

significant increases in plasma levels of a number of cytokines, including

IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-12p40 in the ASD group compared with TD controls (p

< 0.04). Moreover, when the ASD group was separated based on the onset of

symptoms, it was noted that the increased cytokine levels were predominantly in

ASD children who had a regressive form of ASD. In addition, increasing cytokine

levels were associated with more impaired communication and aberrant behaviors.

In conclusion, using larger number of participants than previous studies, we

report significantly shifted cytokine profiles in ASD. These findings suggest

that ongoing inflammatory responses may be linked to disturbances in behavior

and require confirmation in larger replication studies. The characterization of

immunological parameters in ASD has important implications for diagnosis, and

should be considered when designing therapeutic strategies to treat core

symptoms and behavioral impairments of ASD.

PMID: 20705131