title: Glix 13, a new drug acting on glutamatergic pathways in children and animal models of autism spectrum disorders.
abstract: Recently standardized diagnostic instruments have been developed in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for Autism Spectrumv Disorders (ASD). According to the DSM-5 criteria, individuals with ASD must show symptoms from early childhood. These symptoms are communication deficits and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour. It was recently described by Bioinformatic analysis that 99 modified genes were associated with human autism. Gene expression patterns in the low-line animals show significant enrichment in autism-associated genes and the NMDA receptor gene family was identified among these. Using ultrasonic vocalizations, it was demonstrated that genetic variation has a direct impact on the expression of social interactions. It has been proposed that specific alleles interact with a social reward process in the adolescent mouse modifying their social interaction and their approach toward each other. In this review we report that the monoclonal antibody-derived tetrapeptide GLYX-13 was found to act as an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor modulator and possesses the ability to readily cross the blood brain barrier. Treatment with the NMDAR glycine site partial agonist GLYX-13 rescued the deficit in the animal model. Thus, the NMDA receptor has been shown to play a functional role in autism, and GLYX-13 shows promise for the treatment of autism in autistic children.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Pediatria e Neuropsichiatria Infantile, Università di Roma La Sapienza, Via dei Sabelli 108, 00185 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Annamaria Chiara
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4988-8090
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Santini
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Napoli Federico II, Via Pansini 5, 80131 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanna Maria
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Pierantoni
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Napoli Federico II, Via Pansini 5, 80131 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gerlini
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biochimica, Biofisica e Patologia Generale, Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli, Via De Crecchio 7, 80138 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosamaria
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Iorio
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina, Chirurgia e Neuroscienze, Università di Siena, Policlinico Santa Maria alle Scotte, Viale Mario Bracci 16, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Yinka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Olabinjo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biochimica, Biofisica e Patologia Generale, Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli, Via De Crecchio 7, 80138 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2508-2597
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giovane
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biochimica, Biofisica e Patologia Generale, Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli, Via De Crecchio 7, 80138 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6201-4200
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Domenico
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Pediatria e Neuropsichiatria Infantile, Università di Roma La Sapienza, Via dei Sabelli 108, 00185 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sogos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005971:Glutamates / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005971:Glutamates; D009842:Oligopeptides; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; C507283:GLYX-13 peptide