Abstract
BackgroundAutism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social behavior, communication difficulties and the occurrence of repetitive or stereotyped behaviors. There has been substantial evidence for dysregulation of the immune system in autism.MethodsWe evaluated differences in the number and phenotype of circulating blood cells in young children with autism (n = 70) compared with age-matched controls (n = 35). Children with a confirmed diagnosis of autism (4–6 years of age) were further subdivided into low (IQ<68, n = 35) or high functioning (IQ≥68, n = 35) groups. Age- and gender-matched typically developing children constituted the control group. Six hundred and forty four primary and secondary variables, including cell counts and the abundance of cell surface antigens, were assessed using microvolume laser scanning cytometry.ResultsThere were multiple differences in immune cell populations between the autism and control groups. The absolute number of B cells per volume of blood was over 20% higher for children with autism and the absolute number of NK cells was about 40% higher. Neither of these variables showed significant difference between the low and high functioning autism groups. While the absolute number of T cells was not different across groups, a number of cellular activation markers, including HLA-DR and CD26 on T cells, and CD38 on B cells, were significantly higher in the autism group compared to controls.ConclusionsThese results support previous findings that immune dysfunction may occur in some children with autism. Further evaluation of the nature of the dysfunction and how it may play a role in the etiology of autism or in facets of autism neuropathology and/or behavior are needed.
Highlights
Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social deficits, impaired verbal and nonverbal communication and the presence of stereotyped behaviors or circumscribed interests [1]
There were multiple significant differences observed in immune cell numbers and the surface expression of markers on immune cells in children with autism compared with age and gendermatched typically developing controls
More differences were observed between children with autism and typically developing controls than between the low functioning (LFA) and high functioning (HFA) autism groups based on IQ, 33 variables were different between High functioning autism (HFA) and low-functioning autism (LFA) at the p,0.05 level
Summary
Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social deficits, impaired verbal and nonverbal communication and the presence of stereotyped behaviors or circumscribed interests [1]. There have been numerous findings of altered immune function in autism [6]. More definitive studies have since highlighted the presence of inflammation in the brain and the activation of microglia [11] as well as evidence for altered peripheral immune function in autism, including increased cytokine levels in the plasma such as interleukin (IL)-1b, IL-6, and IL-8 [12], elevated levels of complement proteins [13], decreased cellular activity of NK cells [14,15,16], increased monocyte activation [17,18], and a reduced number of CD4+ T cells [10,19,20]. There has been substantial evidence for dysregulation of the immune system in autism
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