Abstract
Gut peptide hormones are one group of secretory factors produced from gastrointestinal endocrine cells with potent functions in modulating digestive functions. In recent decades, they have been found across different brain regions, many of which are involved in autism-related social, emotional and cognitive deficits. Clinical studies have revealed possible correlation between those hormones and autism spectrum disorder pathogenesis. In animal models, gut peptide hormones modulate neurodevelopment, synaptic transmission and neural plasticity, explaining their behavioral relevance. This review article will summarize major findings from both clinical and basic research showing the role of gut peptide hormones in mediating autism-related neurological functions, and their potential implications in autism pathogenesis. The pharmaceutical value of gut hormones in alleviating autism-associated behavioral syndromes will be discussed to provide new insights for future drug development.
Highlights
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects more than 1.5% of children worldwide (Christensen et al, 2016)
We recently found that secretin could potentiate postnatal proliferation and migration of cerebellar granular neurons (Wang et al, 2017) and potentiate inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) of cerebellar Purkinje neurons (Yung et al, 2001), adding further knowledge to the neural plasticity modulation by secretin
Current knowledge agree that vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), secretin and PACAP27 can be transported into the brain by a non-saturable mechanism, or transmembrane diffusion, whilst PACAP38 and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) have no known routes in enter the central nervous system (DogrukolAk et al, 2004)
Summary
Potential Role of Gut Peptide Hormones in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Gut peptide hormones are one group of secretory factors produced from gastrointestinal endocrine cells with potent functions in modulating digestive functions. In recent decades, they have been found across different brain regions, many of which are involved in autism-related social, emotional and cognitive deficits. Clinical studies have revealed possible correlation between those hormones and autism spectrum disorder pathogenesis. Gut peptide hormones modulate neurodevelopment, synaptic transmission and neural plasticity, explaining their behavioral relevance. This review article will summarize major findings from both clinical and basic research showing the role of gut peptide hormones in mediating autism-related neurological functions, and their potential implications in autism pathogenesis.
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