Inflammatory Cytokines: Potential Biomarkers of Immunologic Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorders

• Published in: Mediators of Inflammation Vol. 2015; no. 2015; pp. 759 - 768-267
• Main Authors: Xu, Ningan, Zhong, Yan, Li, Xiaohong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Limiteds 01.01.2015; Hindawi Publishing Corporation; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Animals; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder - immunology; Autism Spectrum Disorder - metabolism; Behavior; Biological markers; Biomarkers - metabolism; Brain; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; Children & youth; Cytokines; Cytokines - metabolism; Gangrene; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor - metabolism; Growth factors; Health aspects; Humans; Inflammation; Interleukin-1 - metabolism; Interleukin-2 - metabolism; Kinases; Laboratories; Nervous system; Pathogenesis; Physiological aspects; Proteins; Review; Studies; Transforming Growth Factor beta - metabolism; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF
• ISSN: 0962-9351; 1466-1861; 1466-1861
• DOI: 10.1155/2015/531518

Autism is a disorder of neurobiological origin characterized by problems in communication and social skills and repetitive behavior. After more than six decades of research, the etiology of autism remains unknown, and no biomarkers have been proven to be characteristic of autism. A number of studies have shown that the cytokine levels in the blood, brain, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of autistic subjects differ from that of healthy individuals; for example, a series of studies suggests that interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) are significantly elevated in different tissues in autistic subjects. However, the expression of some cytokines, such as IL-1, IL-2, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), is controversial, and different studies have found various results in different tissues. In this review, we focused on several types of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines that might affect different cell signal pathways and play a role in the pathophysiological mechanism of autistic spectrum disorders.