title: Plasma vasopressin concentrations positively predict cerebrospinal fluid vasopressin concentrations in human neonates.
abstract: Central arginine vasopressin (AVP) plays a critical role in mammalian social behavior and has been hypothesized to be a biomarker of certain human neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism. However, opportunities to collect post-mortem brain tissue or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from children are extremely limited, and the use of less invasive peripheral assessments (e.g., blood, urine, or saliva) of AVP as a proxy for more invasive central measures has not been well validated. Further, almost nothing is known about AVP biology in very young infants. Therefore in the present study we concomitantly collected basal CSF and plasma samples from N = 20 neonates undergoing clinical sepsis evaluation (all were sepsis negative) and quantified AVP concentrations via well-validated enzyme-immunoassay methodology. Plasma AVP concentrations significantly and positively predicted CSF AVP concentrations (r = 0.73, p = 0.0021), and this relationship persisted when variance attributed to sex, gestational age, and sample collection time was controlled for in the statistical model (r = 0.75, p = 0.0047). These findings provide preliminary support for the use of basal plasma AVP measurement as a proxy for basal brain AVP activity in pediatric populations. Future studies are now required to determine the relationship between behavioral measures and AVP concentrations in both central and peripheral compartments in young infants and older children.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Electronic address: dcarson@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Dean S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Carson
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Howerton
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Comparative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Garner
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Shellie A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hyde
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Catherine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Antonio Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Hardan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Departments of Fetal and Transitional Medicine, Neonatology, and the Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
authors.forename: Anna A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Penn
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Electronic address: kjparker@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Karen J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Parker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D014667:Vasopressins / Q000097:blood* / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
chemical_list: D014667:Vasopressins
keywords: Arginine vasopressin; Cerebrospinal fluid; Human neonate; Lumbar puncture; Oxytocin; Plasma