Childhood serum anti-fetal brain antibodies do not predict autism

Autoimmune hypotheses for autism include in utero transplacental exposure to maternal antibodies and acquired postnatal insults. Previous work demonstrated that some mothers of children with autistic disorder have specific antibodies against human fetal brain that differentiate them from mothers with typical children. In the present study, Western immunoblotting was used to determine whether children with autistic spectrum disorders (n = 29) have serum reactivity against human fetal brain that differs from that of controls (n = 14). There was no significant difference in reactivity, corrected for serum immunoglobulin G content and brain actin content and with special attention to reactive bands at 36, 39, 61, and 73 kDa, between autistic children and normal control subjects. Thus, in contrast to mothers, antibody reactivity against human fetal brain as measured in children ages 3-12 years does not appear to be a useful biomarker for autism.