Runge Kimon, Fiebich Bernd L, Kuzior Hanna, Rausch Jördis, Maier Simon J, Dersch Rick, Nickel Kathrin, Domschke Katharina, Tebartz van Elst Ludger, Endres Dominique
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Clinic of Neurology and Neurophysiology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
J Psychiatr Res. 2023 Feb;158:134-142. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.12.032. Epub 2022 Dec 23.
Despite intensive research, the etiological causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remain elusive. Immunological mechanisms have recently been studied more frequently in the context of maternal autoantibodies and infections, as well as altered cytokine profiles. For the detection of immunological processes in the central nervous system, analyses of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are advantageous due to its proximity to the brain. However, cytokine studies in the CSF of ASD patients are sparse.
CSF was collected from a patient sample of 24 adults (m = 16, f = 8, age: 30.3 ± 11.6 years) with ASD and compared to a previously published mentally healthy control sample of 39 neurological patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. A magnetic bead multiplexing immunoassay was used to measure multiple cytokines in CSF.
Significantly decreased interferon-γ-induced protein-10 (p = 0.001) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (p = 0.041) levels as well as significantly higher interleukin-8 levels (p = 0.041) were detected in patients with ASD compared with the control group.
The main finding of this study is an altered cytokine profile in adult patients with ASD compared to the control group. This may indicate immune dysregulation in a subgroup of adult ASD patients. Further studies in larger cohorts that examine a broader spectrum of chemokines and cytokines in general are needed to detect possible specific immune signatures in ASD.
尽管进行了深入研究，自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的病因仍不明确。最近，免疫机制在母体自身抗体、感染以及细胞因子谱改变的背景下得到了更频繁的研究。对于中枢神经系统免疫过程的检测，由于脑脊液（CSF）与大脑接近，对其进行分析具有优势。然而，关于ASD患者脑脊液中细胞因子的研究较少。
从24名成年ASD患者（男=16，女=8，年龄：30.3±11.6岁）的样本中收集脑脊液，并与之前发表的39名患有特发性颅内高压的神经科精神健康对照患者样本进行比较。使用磁珠多重免疫测定法测量脑脊液中的多种细胞因子。
与对照组相比，ASD患者中干扰素-γ诱导蛋白-10（p=0.001）和单核细胞趋化蛋白-1（p=0.041）水平显著降低，白细胞介素-8水平显著升高（p=0.041）。
本研究的主要发现是，与对照组相比，成年ASD患者的细胞因子谱发生了改变。这可能表明成年ASD患者亚组存在免疫失调。需要在更大的队列中进行进一步研究，以检测ASD中可能的特定免疫特征，这些研究通常会检测更广泛的趋化因子和细胞因子。
