Plasma Cytokine Profiles in Subjects with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 6; no. 5; p. e20470
• Main Authors: Suzuki, Katsuaki, Matsuzaki, Hideo, Iwata, Keiko, Kameno, Yosuke, Shimmura, Chie, Kawai, Satomi, Yoshihara, Yujiro, Wakuda, Tomoyasu, Takebayashi, Kiyokazu, Takagai, Shu, Matsumoto, Kaori, Tsuchiya, Kenji J., Iwata, Yasuhide, Nakamura, Kazuhiko, Tsujii, Masatsugu, Sugiyama, Toshirou, Mori, Norio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 27.05.2011; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age; Allergies; Autism; B cells; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - blood; Case-Control Studies; Chemokines; Chemokines - blood; Chemokines - immunology; Child; Child & adolescent psychiatry; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - blood; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - immunology; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - physiopathology; Children & youth; Cytokines; Cytokines - blood; Cytokines - immunology; Disorders; Down syndrome; Humans; Immune response; Immune system; Immunology; Interleukin 1 receptor antagonist; Interleukin 1 receptors; Interleukin 12; Interleukin 13; Interleukin 17; Interleukin 5; Interleukin 8; Lymphocytes; Male; Males; Markers; Medical research; Medicine; Multiplexing; Neurology; Neuropeptides; Regulation; Trends; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0020470

Accumulating evidence suggests that dysregulation of the immune system is involved in the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The aim of the study was to explore immunological markers in peripheral plasma samples from non-medicated subjects with high-functioning ASD. A multiplex assay for cytokines and chemokines was applied to plasma samples from male subjects with high-functioning ASD (n = 28) and matched controls (n = 28). Among a total of 48 analytes examined, the plasma concentrations of IL-1β, IL-1RA, IL-5, IL-8, IL-12(p70), IL-13, IL-17 and GRO-α were significantly higher in subjects with ASD compared with the corresponding values of matched controls after correction for multiple comparisons. The results suggest that abnormal immune responses as assessed by multiplex analysis of cytokines may serve as one of the biological trait markers for ASD.