Abstract
Aim: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a group of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders, is characterized by complex behavioral phenotypes. Despite extensive studies over many years, the causes of ASD are still unknown. PTEN and POGZ genes are studied as candidate genes that may be responsible for the ASD phenotype. We aimed to investigate the expression levels of PTEN and POGZ genes in autistic patients.Methods: Gene expressions of PTEN and POGZ were investigated in 50 ASD patients and 50 age and gender matched healthy controls. This study was conducted in the Erciyes University Genome and Stem Cell Center (GENKOK).Results: POGZ gene expression was increased in patients compared to controls. According to gender, the expression results of the autistic male patients were significant. PTEN mRNA expression was not statistically significant but found to be lower in patients than in controls. The relationship between the expression of these genes and cognitive deficits was not significant.Conclusion: We recommend investigating other possible candidate genes in larger cohorts and comparing the results with different additional cilinical findings in ASD.
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