Changes in Monocyte Chemoattractive Protein, Nuclear Respiratory Factor 2, B-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma 2 and Cholinesterase in Serum of Autistic Children
Omar M. E. Abdel-Salam1, Eman R. Youness2 and Walaa A. Abu-Elhamed31Department of Toxicology and Narcotics, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
2Department of Medical Biochemistry, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
3Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Corresponding Author E-mail: omasalam@hotmail.com
Abstract: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of early childhood with unknown aetiology. In this study we aimed to investigate the changes in biochemical markers of inflammation, apoptosis, and mitochondrial function in the serum of children affected with autism spectrum disorder. Moreover we evaluated the changes in cholinesterase activity as a cholinergic marker in serum of these subjects. Twenty autistic children aged 3 to 12 years were gender and age-matched with 20 typically developing (TD) children. Changes in the levels of the proinflammatory cytokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), transcription factor nuclear respiratory factor 2 (NRF-2), the antiapoptotic factor -cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 (Bcl2) as well as cholinesterase activity were measured in serum of autistic children and controls. We found significant increments in serum MCP-1, NRF-2 and Bcl2 of autistic children by 185.3%, 41.8% and 63.5%, respectively, compared to corresponding control values. There was also marked increase in serum cholinesterase activity by 97.5% (P<0.001) in autistic patients compared to controls. These results indicate an increased inflammatory response in serum of autistic children and suggest that serum levels of BChE, Bcl2 and NRF-2 are elevated in autism, possibly as an adaptive mechanism to the chronic inflammatory process. Serum BChE might serve as a biomarker of inflammation in autistic subjects.
Keywords: Autism; inflammation; mitochondrial dysfunction; serum cholinesterase Back to TOC