Evaluation of serum Neuron-specific enolase, S100B, myelin basic protein and glial fibrilliary acidic protein as brain specific proteins in children with autism spectrum disorder

• Published in: International journal of developmental neuroscience Vol. 61; no. 1; pp. 86 - 91
• Main Authors: Esnafoglu, Erman, Ayyıldız, Sema Nur, Cırrık, Selma, Erturk, Emine Yurdakul, Erdil, Abdullah, Daglı, Abdullah, Noyan, Tevfik
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2017; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Autism; Autism spectrum disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder - blood; Autism Spectrum Disorder - pathology; Bioindicators; Biomarkers; Brain; Brain damage; Brain injury; Brain specific proteins; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Children & youth; Damage assessment; Damage detection; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Glial fibrillary acidic protein; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein - blood; Humans; Male; Mental disorders; Myelin; Myelin basic protein; Myelin Basic Protein - blood; Neuron specific enolase; Neuronal-glial interactions; Neurons; Phosphopyruvate hydratase; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase - blood; Proteins; S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit - blood; S100B; S100b protein; Tissues; Neuron specific enolase; S100B; Brain specific proteins; Glial fibrillary acidic protein; Autism spectrum disorder; Myelin basic protein
• ISSN: 0736-5748; 1873-474X; 1873-474X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2017.06.011

•There was no significant difference between the two groups for NSE, MBP, and S100B values.•GFAP values in the patient group were statistically significantly higher than in the healthy control group.•There was a significant positive correlation between serum GFAP values and CARS score in all subjects and in the patient group.•While serum NSE, MBP, and S100B values can not be considered as biomarkers for ASD, GFAP may be a biomarker and is suggested as a possible indicator of autism severity. Brain specific-proteins are not found in other tissues and measurement non-invasively in the blood may identify structurally and functionally damaged brain regions and identify the severity and prognosis of neuropsychiatric diseases. For this reason, we aimed to evaluate serum brain-specific protein values as brain damage markers in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). 35 children with ASD and 31 healthy subjects were included in the study. Sociodemographic form and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) were applied to each subject. Serum neuron specific enolase (NSE), S100B, Myelin basic protein (MBP) and Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) values ​​were measured with ELISA. There was no significant difference between the two groups for NSE, MBP and S100B values (p=0.242; p=0.768; p=0.672, respectively). However, GFAP values ​​in the patient group were statistically significantly higher (mean±SD: 0.463±0.392ng/ml) than in the healthy control group (mean±SD: 0.256±0.111ng/ml) (p<0.001). In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between serum GFAP values ​​and CARS score in all subjects and in the patient group (r=0.599; p<0.001 and r=0.380; p=0.024, respectively). While serum NSE, MBP, and S100B values cannot be considered as biomarkers for ASD, GFAP may be a biomarker and is suggested as a possible indicator of autism severity.