Serum antinucleosome-specific antibody as a marker of autoimmunity in children with autism.
BACKGROUND
Increasing evidence of autoimmune phenomena in some individuals with autism could represent the presence of altered or inappropriate immune responses in this disorder. The role of the nucleosome in the induction of antibody response in some autoimmune-mediated tissue damage may provide novel targets for treatment. Due to the paucity of studies investigating the frequency of systemic auto-antibodies in autism, we are the first to investigate the frequency of antinucleosome-specific antibodies in a group of autistic children.


METHODS
Serum antinucleosome-specific antibodies were measured by ELISA in 60 autistic children, between the ages of 3 and 12 years, in comparison to 60 healthy children. Autistic severity was assessed using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS).


RESULTS
Autistic children had significantly higher serum antinucleosome-specific antibodies than healthy children (P <0.001). The seropositivity of antinucleosome-specific antibodies was found in 46.7% of autistic children. Autistic children with a family history of autoimmunity (40%) had a significantly higher frequency of serum antinucleosome-specific antibodies (83.3%) than patients without such a history (22.2%, P <0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Serum levels of antinucleosome-specific antibodies were increased in some autistic children. However, these data should be treated with caution until further investigations are performed with a larger subject population to determine whether these antibodies have a role in the induction of autoimmunity in a subgroup of autistic children. The role of immunotherapy in children with autism should be also studied.
Laila Yousef
LY
AL-Ayadhi
Autism Research and Treatment Center, AL-Amodi Autism Research Chair, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. gehan.mostafa2000@yahoo.com.
Gehan Ahmed
GA
Mostafa
D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000097:blood*; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear