title: Enzymes in the glutamate-glutamine cycle in the anterior cingulate cortex in postmortem brain of subjects with autism.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Accumulating evidence suggests that dysfunction in the glutamatergic system may underlie the pathophysiology of autism. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been implicated in autism as well as in glutamatergic neurotransmission. We hypothesized that alterations in the glutamate-glutamine cycle in the ACC might play a role in the pathophysiology of autism.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed Western blot analyses for the protein expression levels of enzymes in the glutamate-glutamine cycle, including glutamine synthetase, kidney-type glutaminase, liver-type glutaminase, and glutamate dehydrogenases 1 and 2, in the ACC of postmortem brain of individuals with autism (n = 7) and control subjects (n = 13).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that the protein levels of kidney-type glutaminase, but not those of the other enzymes measured, in the ACC were significantly lower in subjects with autism than in controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that reduced expression of kidney-type glutaminase may account for putative alterations in glutamatergic neurotransmission in the ACC in autism.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan. k-suzuki@hama-med.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Chie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shimmura
authors.forename: Katsuaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Yasuhide
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwata
authors.forename: Kenji J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Tsuchiya
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohno
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsuzaki
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iwata
authors.forename: Yosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kameno
authors.forename: Taro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Tomoyasu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wakuda
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mori