Balancing Act: Maintaining Amino Acid Levels in the Autistic Brain.
The ever-expanding number of genes that are mutated in autism is showing us how imbalances in fundamental cellular processes can lead to disease. A recent study by Tărlungeanu et al. (2016) identifies a form of ASD resulting from a failure of the brain to properly import amino acids.
GW Institute for Neuroscience and Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
Thomas M
TM
Maynard
GW Institute for Neuroscience and Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, USA; GW Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, USA. Electronic address: cmanzini@gwu.edu.
M Chiara
MC
Manzini
D000596:Amino Acids; D001321:Autistic Disorder; D001921:Brain
D000596:Amino Acids
amino acid transport; autism spectrum disorder; blood brain barrier; brain metabolism; branched amino acids; mTor; protein synthesis