Dysregulation of Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor-Cholesterol Crosstalk in Autism Spectrum Disorder

VALLÉS, A.S.; BARRANTES, FRANCISCO J.

Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience

Frontiers

Lugar: Lausanne; Año: 2021 vol. 14

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a set of complex neurodevelopmental diseasesthat include impaired social interaction, delayed and disordered language, repetitiveor stereotypic behavior, restricted range of interests, and altered sensory processing.The underlying causes of the core symptoms remain unclear, as are the factors thattrigger their onset. Given the complexity and heterogeneity of the clinical phenotypes, aconstellation of genetic, epigenetic, environmental, and immunological factors may beinvolved. The lack of appropriate biomarkers for the evaluation of neurodevelopmentaldisorders makes it difficult to assess the contribution of early alterations in neurochemicalprocesses and neuroanatomical and neurodevelopmental factors to ASD. Abnormalitiesin the cholinergic system in various regions of the brain and cerebellum are observed inASD, and recently altered cholesterol metabolism has been implicated at the initial stagesof the disease. Given the multiple effects of the neutral lipid cholesterol on the paradigmrapid ligand-gated ion channel, the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, we explore in thisreview the possibility that the dysregulation of nicotinic receptor-cholesterol crosstalkplays a role in some of the neurological alterations observed in ASD.