Maternal mid-pregnancy autoantibodies to fetal brain protein: the early markers for autism study
- PMID: 18571628
- PMCID: PMC2574992
- DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.05.006
Maternal mid-pregnancy autoantibodies to fetal brain protein: the early markers for autism study
Abstract
Background: Immune dysfunction has been associated with autism, yet whether maternal immune status during pregnancy plays a causal role remains to be clarified.
Methods: We conducted a population-based case-control study nested within the cohort of infants born July 2000-September 2001 to women who participated in the prenatal screening program in Orange County, California. Cases (AU; n = 84) were children receiving services for autism at the Regional Center of Orange County. Two control groups were included: children with mental retardation or developmental delay (MR; n = 49) receiving services at the same regional center; and children not receiving services for developmental disabilities, randomly sampled from the California birth certificate files (GP; n = 160). Maternal autoantibody reactivity to fetal brain protein was measured by Western blot in archived mid-pregnancy blood specimens drawn during routine prenatal screening. Presence of specific bands and band patterns were compared between the three study groups.
Results: The pattern of maternal mid-gestation antibody reactivity to human fetal brain protein varied by study group and by autism onset type, although most differences did not reach statistical significance. Reactivity to a band at 39 kDa was more common among mothers of children with autism (7%) compared with mothers of MR (0%; p = .09) and GP control subjects (2%; p = .07), and simultaneous reactivity to bands at 39 kDa and 73 kDa was found only in mothers of children with early onset autism (n = 3).
Conclusions: Our findings indicate that further studies of prenatal immune markers might be a productive area for etiologic and biologic marker discovery for autism.
Figures
![Figure 1](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/2574992/bin/nihms-63111-f0001.gif)
Similar articles
-
Differences in mid-gestational and early postnatal neonatal cytokines and chemokines are associated with patterns of maternal autoantibodies in the context of autism.Cereb Cortex. 2024 May 2;34(13):50-62. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhae082. Cereb Cortex. 2024. PMID: 38696596
-
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and autism: maternal and infant peripheral blood levels in the Early Markers for Autism (EMA) Study.Autism Res. 2008 Apr;1(2):130-7. doi: 10.1002/aur.14. Autism Res. 2008. PMID: 19119429 Free PMC article.
-
Autism: maternally derived antibodies specific for fetal brain proteins.Neurotoxicology. 2008 Mar;29(2):226-31. doi: 10.1016/j.neuro.2007.10.010. Epub 2007 Nov 6. Neurotoxicology. 2008. PMID: 18078998 Free PMC article.
-
A profile and review of findings from the Early Markers for Autism study: unique contributions from a population-based case-control study in California.Mol Autism. 2021 Mar 18;12(1):24. doi: 10.1186/s13229-021-00429-7. Mol Autism. 2021. PMID: 33736683 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Maternal autoantibodies in autism.Arch Neurol. 2012 Jun;69(6):693-9. doi: 10.1001/archneurol.2011.2506. Arch Neurol. 2012. PMID: 22689191 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Differences in mid-gestational and early postnatal neonatal cytokines and chemokines are associated with patterns of maternal autoantibodies in the context of autism.Cereb Cortex. 2024 May 2;34(13):50-62. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhae082. Cereb Cortex. 2024. PMID: 38696596
-
Interleukin-23 levels in umbilical cord blood are associated with neurodevelopmental trajectories in infancy.PLoS One. 2024 Apr 9;19(4):e0301982. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301982. eCollection 2024. PLoS One. 2024. PMID: 38593153 Free PMC article.
-
Pre-autism: What a paediatrician should know about early diagnosis of autism.World J Clin Pediatr. 2023 Dec 9;12(5):273-294. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.v12.i5.273. eCollection 2023 Dec 9. World J Clin Pediatr. 2023. PMID: 38178935 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Association between interpregnancy interval and risk of autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis.Eur J Pediatr. 2024 Mar;183(3):1209-1221. doi: 10.1007/s00431-023-05364-8. Epub 2023 Dec 12. Eur J Pediatr. 2024. PMID: 38085281
-
Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE) as a Biomarker for Autistic Spectrum Disease (ASD).Life (Basel). 2023 Aug 13;13(8):1736. doi: 10.3390/life13081736. Life (Basel). 2023. PMID: 37629593 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Lord C, Cook EH, Leventhal BL, Amaral DG. Autism spectrum disorders. Neuron. 2000;28:355–363. - PubMed
-
- American Psychiatric Association . Task Force on DSM-IV. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV-TR. American Psychiatric Association; Washington, DC: 2000.
-
- Volkmar FR, Lord C, Bailey A, Schultz RT, Klin A. Autism and pervasive developmental disorders. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2004;45:135–170. - PubMed
-
- Aman MG. Treatment planning for patients with autism spectrum disorders. J Clin Psychiatry. 2005;66(suppl 10):38–45. - PubMed
-
- Ashwood P, Wills S, Van de Water J. The immune response in autism: A new frontier for autism research. J Leukoc Biol. 2006;80:1–15. - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical