Evaluation of IL-1β, 8-OHdG and TBARS in Autistic Children: The Role of Inflammatory Biomarkers

Recently, neuroinflammation has been associated with many psychiatric disorders, including autism. The primary aim of this study was to investigate baseline levels of inflammatory and oxidative stress (OS) markers and DNA damage in unmedicated, healthy autistic children. Our first hypothesis was that the specific OS marker thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS); the concentration of 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), representing DNA damage; and the inflammatory marker interleukin-1 β (IL-1β) would be elevated in unmedicated autistic patients compared to controls. The secondary aim was to evaluate the relationship between these three metabolites. Our outcomes reveal that autistic children have higher serum levels of IL-1β, TBARS and 8-OHdG compared to control group. The regression analysis revealed that levels of TBARS are related to 8-OHdG levels in controls, but not in autistic children. We can hypothesize that, in autistic children, DNA damage could already be present. Our data also showed that there is no association between IL-1β and 8-OHdG serum levels in both groups, suggesting that the DNA damage caused by OS is not mediated by IL-1β. This study reveals that inflammation may play an important role in pathophysiology of autism, encouraging further investigation of these mechanisms.