Neurotensin is increased in serum of young children with autistic disorder.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of pervasive neurodevelopmental disorders diagnosed in early childhood. They are associated with a set of "core symptoms" that include disabilities in social interaction skills, verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as repetitive and stereotypic behaviors. There is no definite pathogenetic mechanism or diagnostic tests. Many children with ASD also have "allergic-like" symptoms, but test negative implying mast cell activation by non-allergic triggers. We measured by Milliplex arrays serum levels of 3 neuropeptides that could stimulate mast cells in children with autistic disorder (n = 19; 16 males and 3 females; mean age 3.0 ± 0.4 years) and healthy, unrelated controls (n = 16; 13 males and 3 females; mean age 3 ± 1.2 years). Only neurotensin (NT) was significantly increased from 60.5 ± 6.0 pg/ml in controls to 105.6 ± 12.4 pg/ml in autistic disorder (p = 0.004). There was no statistically significant difference in the serum levels of β-endorphin or substance P (SP). NT could stimulate immune cells, especially mast cells, and/or have direct effects on brain inflammation and ASD.
Angelidou
Asimenia
A
Laboratory of Molecular Immunopharmacology and Drug Discovery, Department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Francis
Konstantinos
K
Vasiadi
Magdalini
M
Alysandratos
Konstantinos-Dionysios
KD
Zhang
Bodi
B
Theoharides
Athanasios
A
Lykouras
Lefteris
L
Sideri
Kyriaki
K
Kalogeromitros
Dimitrios
D
Theoharides
Theoharis C
TC
D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000097:blood*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009496:Neurotensin / Q000097:blood*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013373:Substance P / Q000097:blood; D001615:beta-Endorphin / Q000097:blood
D013373:Substance P; D009496:Neurotensin; D001615:beta-Endorphin