Su Tangfeng, Yan Yu, Li Qiang, Ye Jiacai, Pei Lei
Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Department of Neurology, People's Hospital of Dongxihu District, Wuhan, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2021 Oct 22;12:734837. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.734837. eCollection 2021.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder and characterized by early childhood-onset impairments in social interaction and communication, restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior or interests. So far there is no effective treatment for ASD, and the pathogenesis of ASD remains unclear. Genetic and epigenetic factors have been considered to be the main cause of ASD. It is known that endocannabinoid and its receptors are widely distributed in the central nervous system, and provide a positive and irreversible change toward a more physiological neurodevelopment. Recently, the endocannabinoid system (ECS) has been found to participate in the regulation of social reward behavior, which has attracted considerable attention from neuroscientists and neurologists. Both animal models and clinical studies have shown that the ECS is a potential target for the treatment of autism, but the mechanism is still unknown. In the brain, microglia express a complete ECS signaling system. Studies also have shown that modulating ECS signaling can regulate the functions of microglia. By comprehensively reviewing previous studies and combining with our recent work, this review addresses the effects of targeting ECS on microglia, and how this can contribute to maintain the positivity of the central nervous system, and thus improve the symptoms of autism. This will provide insights for revealing the mechanism and developing new treatment strategies for autism.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一种严重的神经发育障碍，其特征为儿童早期出现的社交互动和沟通障碍、行为或兴趣模式受限及重复。迄今为止，尚无针对ASD的有效治疗方法，且ASD的发病机制仍不清楚。遗传和表观遗传因素被认为是ASD的主要病因。已知内源性大麻素及其受体广泛分布于中枢神经系统，并为向更生理的神经发育提供积极且不可逆的变化。最近，发现内源性大麻素系统（ECS）参与社交奖励行为的调节，这引起了神经科学家和神经学家的相当关注。动物模型和临床研究均表明，ECS是治疗自闭症的一个潜在靶点，但其机制仍不明。在大脑中，小胶质细胞表达完整的ECS信号系统。研究还表明，调节ECS信号可调控小胶质细胞的功能。通过全面回顾以往研究并结合我们最近的工作，本综述探讨了靶向ECS对小胶质细胞的影响，以及这如何有助于维持中枢神经系统的积极性，从而改善自闭症症状。这将为揭示自闭症机制和开发新的治疗策略提供见解。
