PMID- 16698940
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20070913
LR  - 20240312
IS  - 0741-5400 (Print)
IS  - 0741-5400 (Linking)
VI  - 80
IP  - 1
DP  - 2006 Jul
TI  - The immune response in autism: a new frontier for autism research.
PG  - 1-15
AB  - Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are part of a broad spectrum of 
      neurodevelopmental disorders known as pervasive developmental disorders, which 
      occur in childhood. They are characterized by impairments in social interaction, 
      verbal and nonverbal communication and the presence of restricted and repetitive 
      stereotyped behaviors. At the present time, the etiology of ASD is largely 
      unknown, but genetic, environmental, immunological, and neurological factors are 
      thought to play a role in the development of ASD. Recently, increasing research 
      has focused on the connections between the immune system and the nervous system, 
      including its possible role in the development of ASD. These neuroimmune 
      interactions begin early during embryogenesis and persist throughout an 
      individual's lifetime, with successful neurodevelopment contingent upon a normal 
      balanced immune response. Immune aberrations consistent with a dysregulated 
      immune response, which so far, have been reported in autistic children, include 
      abnormal or skewed T helper cell type 1 (T(H)1)/T(H)2 cytokine profiles, 
      decreased lymphocyte numbers, decreased T cell mitogen response, and the 
      imbalance of serum immunoglobulin levels. In addition, autism has been linked 
      with autoimmunity and an association with immune-based genes including human 
      leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1 and complement C4 alleles described. There is 
      potential that such aberrant immune activity during vulnerable and critical 
      periods of neurodevelopment could participate in the generation of neurological 
      dysfunction characteristic of ASD. This review will examine the status of the 
      research linking the immune response with ASD.
FAU - Ashwood, Paul
AU  - Ashwood P
AD  - Medical Microbiology and Immunology and the M.I.N.D. Institute, University of 
      California Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. pashwood@ucdavis.edu
FAU - Wills, Sharifia
AU  - Wills S
FAU - Van de Water, Judy
AU  - Van de Water J
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Review
DEP - 20060512
PL  - England
TA  - J Leukoc Biol
JT  - Journal of leukocyte biology
JID - 8405628
RN  - 0 (Complement C4)
RN  - 0 (HLA-DR Antigens)
RN  - 0 (HLA-DRB1 Chains)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Autistic Disorder/genetics/*immunology
MH  - Autoimmunity
MH  - Complement C4/genetics
MH  - HLA-DR Antigens/genetics
MH  - HLA-DRB1 Chains
MH  - Humans
MH  - T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer/immunology
RF  - 199
EDAT- 2006/05/16 09:00
MHDA- 2007/09/14 09:00
CRDT- 2006/05/16 09:00
PHST- 2006/05/16 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2007/09/14 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2006/05/16 09:00 [entrez]
AID - jlb.1205707 [pii]
AID - 10.1189/jlb.1205707 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Leukoc Biol. 2006 Jul;80(1):1-15. doi: 10.1189/jlb.1205707. Epub 2006 May 12.