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The possible link between Fetuin-A Protein and Neuro-inflammation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Laila Yousif Al-Ayadhi1, Farah Ali Alghamdi2, Lamees Abdula Altamimi3
1Laila Yousif Al-Ayadhi, PhD. Autism Research and Treatment center, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine. King Saud University, P.O. Box: 2925, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) patients exhibited lower Fetuin-A blood plasma levels compared to healthy children. This finding suggests Fetuin-A may play a role in ASD physiology and warrants further investigation as a potential biomarker.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition.
- Identifying reliable biomarkers for ASD is crucial for early diagnosis and intervention.
- Fetuin-A, a plasma protein, has been implicated in various biological processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate Fetuin-A plasma levels in children with ASD compared to healthy controls.
- To explore the potential of Fetuin-A as a diagnostic biomarker for ASD.
- To correlate Fetuin-A levels with ASD severity using CARS and SSP.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study involving 46 children with ASD and 44 healthy controls.
- Plasma Fetuin-A concentration was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
- Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to analyze relationships between Fetuin-A levels and clinical measures (CARS, SSP).
Main Results:
- Children with ASD showed significantly lower Fetuin-A plasma concentrations than healthy controls (p=0.02).
- Mild to moderate ASD cases also exhibited significantly lower Fetuin-A levels compared to controls (p=0.02).
- No significant correlations were found between Fetuin-A levels and ASD severity scores (CARS, SSP).
Conclusions:
- Lower Fetuin-A plasma levels in ASD subjects suggest a potential association with the pathophysiology of autism.
- Fetuin-A may serve as a potential biomarker for ASD, although further research is needed.
- Larger cohort studies are recommended to validate Fetuin-A's role as an ASD biomarker.
Objectives:
To investigate the blood plasma levels of Fetuin-A protein in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and healthy controls that could offer novel diagnostic biomarkers of disease development in ASD. Another objective was to investigate the severity of autistic children by Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Short Sensory Profile (SSP).
Methods:
This case control study was carried out at Autism Research and Treatment (ART) Center, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from October 2019 to February 2020. Plasma concentration of Fetuin-A was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in ASD subjects (n=46) and normal controls (n=44). Correlation among Fetuin-A levels, CARS and SSP was established by Spearman's correlation coefficient (r).
Results:
Overall, autistic children had significantly (p= 0.0.02) lower Fetuin-A concentration [50.76 (22.2-68.5) ng/ml] than those of healthy controls [53.7 (35.6-99.7) ng/ml] [median (interquartile range)]. Children with mild to moderate autism (n=24, 52%) also showed significantly lower Fetuin-A levels [50.0 (30.0-68.2) ng/ml], (p =0.02} than healthy controls [53.7 (35.6-99.7) ng/ml] [median (IQR)]. However, there was no significant change (p = 0.71) observed between the Fetuin-A levels of children with severe autism [51.8 (22.2-68.5)] ng/ml, mild to moderate autism [50 (30-68.2)] ng/ml [median (IQR)] and healthy controls (p=0.12). Also no significant correlations between Fetuin-A, CARS and SSP were observed (CARS, r= 0.024, p=0.88; SSP, r= -0.003, p=0.98).
Conclusion:
Overall the low Fetuin-A plasma values in ASD subjects, most likely show that Fetuin-A could be associated in the physiology of autism. Further studies with larger patient and control cohorts will be necessary to determine whether Fetuin-A can be used as a biomarker for ASD.
