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Published on: August 17, 2022
Behavioral correlates of maternal antibody status among children with autism
Daniel Braunschweig1, Paul Duncanson, Robert Boyce
1Division of Rheumatology/Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of California, Davis, 451 E Health Sciences Drive, Suite 6510 GBSF, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Insights
Maternal antibodies targeting specific fetal brain proteins are linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. This association correlates with language and behavioral outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Immunology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) affect approximately 1 in 110 children in the United States.
- Maternal immune responses during pregnancy are increasingly investigated for their role in neurodevelopmental disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between maternal autoantibodies reactive to fetal brain proteins and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in children.
- To explore correlations between antibody reactivity patterns and specific behavioral and developmental outcomes in children with ASDs.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of maternal serum samples from a cohort of mothers with children diagnosed with autism and control mothers.
- Immunoassays to detect IgG reactivity against specific fetal brain proteins (37, 39, and 73 kDa).
- Statistical analysis to determine associations between antibody reactivity and ASD diagnosis, as well as behavioral measures.
Main Results:
- Significant association found between maternal IgG reactivity to fetal brain proteins at 37 and 73 kDa and a diagnosis of full autism (p = 0.0005).
- Reactivity to proteins at 39 and 73 kDa correlated with the broader ASD diagnosis (p = 0.0007).
- Antibody reactivity was also linked to specific outcomes, including lower expressive language scores (p = 0.005) and increased irritability (p = 0.05).
Conclusions:
- Evidence suggests multiple patterns of maternal autoantibody reactivity to fetal brain proteins are associated with ASD.
- These antibody patterns may correlate with specific childhood behavioral and developmental phenotypes in ASD.
Abstract:
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) affect approximately 1 in 110 children in the United States. This report profiles fetal-brain reactive autoantibodies of a large cohort of mothers of children with autism and controls, yielding significant associations between the presence of IgG reactivity to fetal brain proteins at 37 and 73 kDa and a childhood diagnosis of full autism (p = 0.0005), which also correlated with lower expressive language scores (p = 0.005). Additionally, we report on reactivity to proteins at 39 and 73 kDa, which correlated with the broader diagnosis of ASD (p = 0.0007) and increased irritability on the Aberrant Behavioral Checklist (p = 0.05). This study provides evidence of multiple patterns of reactivity to fetal brain proteins by maternal antibodies associated with ASD and specific childhood behavioral outcomes.
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