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Query: UMLS:C0004352 (autism)
 32,579 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Inflammatory intestinal pathology has been reported in children with regressive autism (affected children). Detailed analysis of intestinal biopsies in these children indicates a novel lymphocytic enterocolitis with autoimmune features; however, links with cognitive function remain unclear. To characterize further, the nature and extent of this disease we examined the mucosal infiltrate using flow cytometry. Duodenal, ileal, and colonic biopsies were obtained from 52 affected children, 25 histologically normal, and 54 histologically inflamed, developmentally normal controls. Epithelial and lamina propria lymphocyte populations were isolated and examined by multicolor flow cytometry. Adjacent biopsies were assessed by semiquantitative histopathology. At all sites, CD3(+) and CD3(+)CD8(+) IEL as well as CD3(+) LPL were significantly increased in affected children compared with developmentally normal noninflamed control groups (p<0.01) reaching levels similar to inflamed controls. In addition, two populations--CD3(+)CD4(+) IEL and LP CD19(+) B cells--were significantly increased in affected children compared with both noninflamed and inflamed control groups including IBD, at all sites examined (p<0.01). Histologically there was a prominent mucosal eosinophil infiltrate in affected children that was significantly lower in those on a gluten- and casein-free diet, although lymphocyte populations were not influenced by diet. The data provide further evidence of a pan-enteric mucosal immunopathology in children with regressive autism that is apparently distinct from other inflammatory bowel diseases.
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PMID:Intestinal lymphocyte populations in children with regressive autism: evidence for extensive mucosal immunopathology. 1503 38

Immune comorbidities often are reported in subsets of patients with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. A common immunopathology is an increase in serum autoantibodies against myelin basic protein (MBP) relative to control patients. Increases in autoantibodies suggest possible deficits in self-tolerance that may contribute to the formation of brain-specific autoantibodies and subsequent effects on the central nervous system (CNS). Oppositely, the formation of neuronal autoantibodies may be a reaction to neuronal injury or damage. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is an environmental pollutant that induces multisystem toxicity in rodent models, including immunotoxicity and neurotoxicity. We hypothesized that developmental exposure to PFOA may induce immunotoxicity similar to that observed in subsets of patients with neurodevelopmental disorders. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated subsets of T cells from spleens, serum markers of autoreactivity, and levels of MBP and T cell infiltration in the cerebella of adult offspring exposed to 0.02, 0.2, or 2mg/kg of PFOA given to dams from gestation through lactation. Litter weights of offspring from dams exposed to 2mg/kg of PFOA were reduced by 32.6%, on average, from postnatal day one (PND1) through weaning (PND21). The percentage of splenic CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells in male and female offspring from dams exposed to 2mg/kg of PFOA was reduced by 22% relative to the control percentage. Ex vivo co-cultures of splenic CD4+CD25+ T cells and CD4+CD25- T cells from dosed male offspring produced less IL-10 relative to control cells. Anti-ssDNA, a serum marker of autoreactivity, was decreased by 26%, on average, in female offspring from dams exposed to 0.02 and 2mg/kg PFOA. No other endpoints were statistically different by dose. These data suggest that developmental PFOA exposure may impact T cell responses and may be a possible route to downstream effects on other systems.
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PMID:Does developmental exposure to perflurooctanoic acid (PFOA) induce immunopathologies commonly observed in neurodevelopmental disorders? 2313 9