title: Inflammatory Activity in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
abstract: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder in early childhood characterized by impairment in communication and behavior. Recent research is focused on the immune dysregulation as a potential pathomechanism leading to ASD. Thus, we addressed the hypothesis that inflammatory activity might be enhanced in children suffering from ASD. We examined 15 children with ASD (13 boys/2 girls, mean age of 9.3 ± 0.7 years) and 20 age/gender-matched healthy subjects as a control group. All children were medication free and in good health. Hematological parameters in venous blood and plasma levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines - tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß), and interleukin 8 (IL-8) - were assessed in each subject using human ultra-sensitive ELISA kits. In addition, TBARS as a marker of oxidative stress was evaluated. We found that the level of IL-8 was significantly increased in the ASD children, whereas the other markers remained unappreciably changed compared to controls (p = 0.003). In conclusion, the study demonstrates a discrete immune dysfunction in ASD of pro-inflammatory character.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mala Hora 4, 036 01, Martin, Slovakia.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tonhajzerova
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ondrejka
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mestanik
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mikolka
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hrtanek
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mestanikova
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bujnakova
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mokra
mesh_terms: D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000097:blood; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D016209:Interleukin-8; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha