Abstract
Emerging evidence suggests that gestational or developmental vitamin D (DVD) deficiency is associated with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction, lack of verbal and non-verbal communications, stereotyped repetitive behaviors and hyper-activities. There are several other clinical features that are commonly comorbid with ASD, including olfactory impairments, anxiety and delays in motor development. Here we investigate these features in an animal model related to ASD—the DVD-deficient rat. Compared to controls, both DVD-deficient male and female pups show altered ultrasonic vocalizations and stereotyped repetitive behavior. Further, the DVD-deficient animals had delayed motor development and impaired motor control. Adolescent DVD-deficient animals had impaired reciprocal social interaction, while as adults, these animals were hyperactive. The DVD-deficient model is associated with a range of behavioral features of interest to ASD.
Highlights
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which typically manifests in the first two to three years of age and persists throughout life [1]
The data were expressed as standard error mean (SEM) and the level of statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05
There was no significant effect of developmental vitamin D (DVD)-deficiency on weight gain and in both male and female animals when measured at different timepoints (Supplementary Table S1)
Summary
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which typically manifests in the first two to three years of age and persists throughout life [1]. ASD is characterized by difficulties with social interaction, impairments in verbal and non-verbal communications and stereotyped repetitive behaviors [2]. There a number of co-morbid features associated with ASD including fine and gross motor delays [3,4] and sensory differences [5] in toddlers and children with ASD. Global prevalence of ASD is about one in 59 children and adults [6]. It is thought that both genetic and environmental components interact and result in subsequent varied expression of ASD behavioral phenotypes. Recent epidemiological studies indicate that gestational or developmental vitamin D (DVD) deficiency increases the risk of ASD. DVD-deficiency during mid-gestation has Nutrients 2019, 11, 1187; doi:10.3390/nu11051187 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
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