The association between NCAM1 levels and behavioral phenotypes in children with autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are neuropsychiatric disorders associated with synaptic function and plasticity. Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM1) dysfunction impairs synapse formation, synaptic activity and plasticity. To explore the relationship between NCAM1 and ASD, a case-control study was conducted. This research included 40 ASD children and 39 healthy children aged 2-6 years old. We measured the levels of plasma NCAM1 in ASD and healthy control groups by ELISA kits. The severity and behavioral problems of autistic children were also examined. The level of plasma NCAM1 in ASD children was significantly lower than that in controls (p < 0.05). Additionally, NCAM1 levels were negatively correlated with social motivation, social communication and the total scores assessed by Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). NCAM1 levels positively correlated with gross motor ability and developmental quotient in the ASD group. The area under the ROC curve of NCAM1 was 0.647. These results indicated that NCAM1 levels are associated with behavioral problems in children with ASD. These include phenotypes relating to social motivation, social communication, gross motor ability and developmental quotient. These results suggest that future studies exploring the function of NCAM1 in the context of etiology of ASD may be needed.