Medical Faculty, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
Meram Medical Faculty, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey.
J Mol Neurosci. 2022 Apr;72(4):741-747. doi: 10.1007/s12031-021-01954-z. Epub 2022 Jan 6.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by limitations in mutual communication and social interaction as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, or activities. The possible role of biological abnormalities in the etiopathogenesis of this disorder arouses research interest in this area. This is a case-control study evaluating epithelial barrier function by comparing serum concentrations of occludin and zonulin in children with ASD (n = 60) and controls (n = 30). The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) was used to evaluate autism symptom levels in all children. Serum occludin and zonulin levels were analyzed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum occludin was significantly lower in children with ASD than in control subjects. In children with ASD, a decrease in occludin level was significantly associated with the disorder symptom levels items mean score (CARS total scores). Our findings showed that children with ASD had alterations in epithelial barrier function compared to the control group. The investigation of the mechanism underlying the different levels of occludin between ASD and controls may be of importance in clarifying the etiopathogenesis of ASD, as well as its follow-up and treatment.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一种常见的神经发育障碍，其特征是在相互沟通和社会互动方面存在局限性，以及行为、兴趣或活动的受限、重复模式。这种疾病的发病机制中生物异常的可能作用引起了该领域的研究兴趣。这是一项病例对照研究，通过比较自闭症儿童（n=60）和对照组儿童（n=30）的血清封闭蛋白和 zonulin 浓度来评估上皮屏障功能。所有儿童均采用儿童自闭症评定量表（CARS）评估自闭症症状水平。使用酶联免疫吸附试验分析血清 occludin 和 zonulin 水平。自闭症儿童的血清 occludin 明显低于对照组。在自闭症儿童中，occludin 水平的降低与疾病症状水平项目的平均评分（CARS 总分）显著相关。我们的研究结果表明，与对照组相比，自闭症儿童的上皮屏障功能发生了改变。研究自闭症和对照组之间 occludin 水平不同的机制可能对阐明自闭症的发病机制以及其随访和治疗具有重要意义。
