Immunologic studies in a model of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs)

NATALIA BÁEZ; ALICIA DEGANO

Huerta Grande, Córdoba

Congreso; XXVI Congreso Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencias; 2011

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorders defined behaviorally by abnormalities in social, verbal, and nonverbal communication. The etiologies of ASD are likely to be the result of a variety of numerous genetic, neurological, environmental, and immunological interactions that lead to a general behavioral phenotype defined as ASD. It is widely agreed that a subset of patients with ASD show abnormal immunity and it has been proposed that autoimmunity may play a role in the pathogenesis of ASD. However, immune findings in ASD patients are often inconsistent mainly due to the heterogeneous, ill-defined subject groups. Rett Syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutations in Methyl Cytosine Binding Protein 2 (MeCP2) and mouse models of Rett have been widely used for studying ASDs. Using this monogenic model, we propose to evaluate the role of altered immunity in the pathogenesis and/or maintenance of ASDs. For that purpose we will evaluate the presence of autoantibodies against brain proteins, as well as markers of neuroinflamation in mouse models of Rett, at early postnatal ages and after the symptoms appearance. These studies will help to further understand the pathogenic mechanism of ASDs.