Inflammatory cytokines: potential biomarkers of immunologic dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders.
Autism is a disorder of neurobiological origin characterized by problems in communication and social skills and repetitive behavior. After more than six decades of research, the etiology of autism remains unknown, and no biomarkers have been proven to be characteristic of autism. A number of studies have shown that the cytokine levels in the blood, brain, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of autistic subjects differ from that of healthy individuals; for example, a series of studies suggests that interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) are significantly elevated in different tissues in autistic subjects. However, the expression of some cytokines, such as IL-1, IL-2, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), is controversial, and different studies have found various results in different tissues. In this review, we focused on several types of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines that might affect different cell signal pathways and play a role in the pathophysiological mechanism of autistic spectrum disorders.
Department of Children's Health, Hunan Children's Hospital, Hunan, China.
Ningan
0000-0002-9709-5936
N
Xu
Department of Neurochemistry, NY State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, New York, NY 10314, USA.
Xiaohong
X
Li
Department of Children's Health, Hunan Children's Hospital, Hunan, China.
Yan
Y
Zhong
D000818:Animals; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism
D015415:Biomarkers; D016207:Cytokines; D007375:Interleukin-1; D007376:Interleukin-2; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor