Abdallah Morsi W, Michel Tanja M
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Rostock University Medical Center, Gehlsheimer Straße 20, Rostock, 18147 Germany ; Department of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Rostock University Medical Center, Gehlsheimer Str. 20, Rostock, 18147 Germany.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Rostock University Medical Center, Gehlsheimer Straße 20, Rostock, 18147 Germany.
J Mol Psychiatry. 2013 Sep 17;1(1):16. doi: 10.1186/2049-9256-1-16. eCollection 2013.
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are group of developmental disabilities with a complex neurobiological basis including putative changes in the immune system. They are characterized by pervasive qualitative abnormalities in social interactions, communication, and stereotyped behaviour. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) represent a group of proteases which play an important role in neuroinflammation and neurodevelopment. Therefore, they possibly have a crucial function in the etiopathology of ASD. In this review, we summarize the plausibility of the hypothesis that MMPs are involved in the neuropathology of ASD. Possible pathways through which MMPs can contribute to the pathogenesis of ASD are discussed including neuroinflammatory mechanisms inclusive of mediating neuropathological effects of infections, the associations between MMPs and other biomarkers such as cytokines, chemokines and neurotrophic factors. Despite sufficient evidence for such an involvement of MMPs in the neuropathology of ASD, they have not yet been extensively studied in this context. Thus, further research in this field is not only urgently needed but also very promising and may also lead to new therapeutic approaches.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一组具有复杂神经生物学基础的发育障碍，包括免疫系统的假定变化。其特征是社交互动、沟通和刻板行为存在普遍的质性异常。基质金属蛋白酶（MMPs）是一组蛋白酶，在神经炎症和神经发育中起重要作用。因此，它们可能在ASD的病因病理学中具有关键作用。在本综述中，我们总结了MMPs参与ASD神经病理学这一假说的合理性。讨论了MMPs可能促成ASD发病机制的潜在途径，包括神经炎症机制，其中包括介导感染的神经病理效应、MMPs与其他生物标志物（如细胞因子、趋化因子和神经营养因子）之间的关联。尽管有充分证据表明MMPs参与了ASD的神经病理学，但在这方面尚未对其进行广泛研究。因此，该领域的进一步研究不仅迫切需要，而且非常有前景，还可能带来新的治疗方法。
