Santana-Coelho Danielle, Lugo Joaquin N
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA.
Institute of Biomedical Studies, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA.
Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2023 Nov 18;45(11):9306-9315. doi: 10.3390/cimb45110582.
The complement system is part of the innate immune system and has been shown to be altered in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Fragile-X syndrome (FXS) is the main genetic cause of ASD and studies suggest a dysregulation in the immune system in patients with the disorder. To assess if an animal model of FXS presents with altered complement signaling, we treated male knockout (KO) mice with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and collected the hippocampus 24 h later. Assessment of the expression of the complement genes C1q, C3, and C4 identified the upregulation of C3 in both wild-type (WT) and knockout mice. Levels of C3 also increased in both genotypes. Analysis of the correlation between the expression of C3 and the cytokines IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α identified a different relationship between the expression of the genes in KO when compared to WT mice. Our findings did not support our initial hypotheses that the lack of the gene would alter complement system signaling, and that the induction of the complement system in response to LPS in Fmr1 KO mice differed from wild-type conspecifics.
补体系统是先天性免疫系统的一部分,并且已证实在自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)中会发生改变。脆性X综合征(FXS)是ASD的主要遗传病因,研究表明该疾病患者的免疫系统存在失调。为了评估FXS动物模型是否存在补体信号改变,我们用脂多糖(LPS)处理雄性敲除(KO)小鼠,并在24小时后收集海马体。对补体基因C1q、C3和C4表达的评估确定了野生型(WT)和敲除小鼠中C3均上调。两种基因型的C3水平也都有所增加。对C3表达与细胞因子IL-6、IL-1β和TNF-α之间相关性的分析确定,与WT小鼠相比,KO小鼠中这些基因的表达之间存在不同的关系。我们的研究结果不支持我们最初的假设,即该基因的缺失会改变补体系统信号,并且Fmr1 KO小鼠中对LPS反应的补体系统诱导与野生型同种动物不同。