Maternal mid-pregnancy autoantibodies to fetal brain protein: the early markers for autism study.
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.
Croen
Lisa A
LA
Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, California 94612, USA. Lisa.A.Croen@kp.org
Braunschweig
Daniel
D
Haapanen
Lori
L
Yoshida
Cathleen K
CK
Fireman
Bruce
B
Grether
Judith K
JK
Kharrazi
Martin
M
Hansen
Robin L
RL
Ashwood
Paul
P
Van de Water
Judy
J
D000328:Adult; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D015415:Biomarkers; D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D005326:Fetal Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second
D001323:Autoantibodies; D015415:Biomarkers; D005326:Fetal Proteins