Carbone Emilia, Manduca Antonia, Cacchione Claudia, Vicari Stefano, Trezza Viviana
Department of Science, Section of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, Roma Tre University, 00146, Rome, Italy.
Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Catholic University, Rome, Italy; Department of Neuroscience, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2021 Feb;121:128-143. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.12.009. Epub 2020 Dec 21.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with a multifactorial etiology. Latest researches are raising the hypothesis of a link between the onset of the main behavioral symptoms of ASD and the chronic neuroinflammatory condition of the autistic brain; increasing evidence of this connection is shedding light on new possible players in the pathogenesis of ASD. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) has a key role in neurodevelopment as well as in normal inflammatory responses and it is not surprising that many preclinical and clinical studies account for alterations of the endocannabinoid signaling in ASD. These findings lay the foundation for a better understanding of the neurochemical mechanisms underlying ASD and for new therapeutic attempts aimed at exploiting the renowned anti-inflammatory properties of cannabinoids to treat pathologies encompassed in the autistic spectrum. This review discusses the current preclinical and clinical evidence supporting a key role of the ECS in the neuroinflammatory state that characterizes ASD, providing hints to identify new biomarkers in ASD and promising therapies for the future.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一种病因多因素的复杂神经发育障碍。最新研究提出了ASD主要行为症状的发作与自闭症大脑的慢性神经炎症状态之间存在联系的假说；越来越多关于这种联系的证据正在揭示ASD发病机制中可能的新因素。内源性大麻素系统（ECS）在神经发育以及正常炎症反应中起关键作用，许多临床前和临床研究表明ASD中内源性大麻素信号传导发生改变也就不足为奇了。这些发现为更好地理解ASD潜在的神经化学机制以及旨在利用大麻素著名的抗炎特性来治疗自闭症谱系所涵盖病症的新治疗尝试奠定了基础。本综述讨论了当前支持ECS在表征ASD的神经炎症状态中起关键作用的临床前和临床证据，为识别ASD中的新生物标志物和未来有前景的治疗方法提供了线索。
