Autism can be related to the mother's immune system during pregnancy

New research by the Davis Institute of California University (UC) and the Children's Center for Environmental Health found antibodies in the blood of a mother with autistic children clinging to fetal brain cells preventing brain development normal growth. The authors of the study also found that this phenomenon is most common in mothers with children with regressive autism - which occurs when children lose social or language skills after experiencing development. featured. The study's findings suggest that the ability of maternal antibodies to be passed on to children during pregnancy is a factor in autism. Prenatal testing as well as treatments can limit the disorder in children.

Judy Van de Water, the study's lead author and professor of rheumatism, allergy and immunity, said: 'Research is still underway to find out the difference in the immune system. in autistic children. This is also one of the first studies to look for maternal immune factors associated with autism at the earliest stages of development. Our results will pave the way for further research on the prenatal environment as well as the development of autism. We are optimistic, believing that future prenatal testing with interventions may limit exposure to IgG antibodies during pregnancy; Since then, protect children from autism '.

New research suggests that maternal antibodies to babies during pregnancy are a factor in autism.(Photo: iStockphoto / Olivier Lantzendörffer)

Van de Water and her team started with blood samples taken from 123 mothers, of which 61 have children with autism (autism group) and children of the remaining 62 people are going through the development phase. Characteristic development (normal group).They isolated IgG antibodies from blood samples and then put these antibodies into the fetal brain tissue and used trace analysis to identify antibody response to proteins . The results revealed a very specific type of response to two proteins in the fetal brain. This type of reaction occurs in 7 of 61 autistic blood samples, 6 of these 7 are of mothers with autistic children with regression. But no sample of IgG antibodies in the normal group produced similar results.

Van de Water said: 'We are not entirely sure why the reaction of IgG antibodies to fetal brain proteins is associated with later autism formation. It is possible that too early exposure to maternal antibodies has resulted in a biological pathway for autism although the signs of behavior are not evident until later stages. It is also possible that the contact environment after twins requires this process to occur. We hope that the research will help find the basis for the regression form of the disorder '.

The typical signs of autism - less social interaction, linguistic impairment and limited, repetitive behaviors - often manifest very clearly and very early in children with the disease . Other children develop normally until they are 12-24 months old, experiencing important developmental milestones. Unusual development path is the basis for doctors to divide autism into two types: early form and regressive form; they may have different causes and processes.

IgG antibodies help the immune system fight off infectious diseases, but they are not effective for autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, sclerosis or luput. IgG antibodies also move across the placenta to provide important immune factors to protect growing fetuses and newborns. That's why Van de Water himself decided to study the role of a potential autism factor of IgG antibodies.

The next step, she wanted to know if IgG antibodies in pregnant women have similar reactions to fetal brain proteins . The women in the study were involved 2 to 5 years before the birth. Van de Water now wants to conduct a similar study with pregnant women and has a child with autism; Because these women will be able to give birth to a child with a disorder. She said: 'If the women in my next study were born with children diagnosed with autism, the results of blood analysis in all stages of pregnancy would provide us. A complete picture of the immune factors active during pregnancy may have transformed the child's nervous system development. '

Later, specific target proteins of antibodies that cause autism from the mother need to be identified as well as their role in the development of the nervous system. In addition, it is also necessary to determine whether exposure to IgG antibodies from the mother during pregnancy leads to differences in behavior and social life of the child. Sample animal studies are being done to help answer the above questions.

Van de Water's colleague Daniel Braunschweig works together in her lab and is the lead author of current research (he is also the one awarded by the Autism Speaks advisory committee for conducting this research. ) - said: 'Our research results bring to the science of autism more new directions. We now know that we should look for clues to the disease and its pathology earlier than originally planned. Future studies need to consider the interaction of the immune system between mothers and children as a focal point to gain a deeper understanding, and finally find effective interventions for disorders. Complex nervous system '.

Isaac Pessah, director of the Center for Environmental Health (UC, Davis) and professor of molecular biology, said: 'This finding is important because it provides a clue about potential impacts from the mother. to the formation of autism in children. We are determined to find the cause of the disease. The research conducted at the Van de Water laboratory gives us valuable insights into the stages in the development process that we need to look for. '

Cindy Lawler, director of scientific programs at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, said: 'We want to understand the inner causes of autism. This finding, along with other NIH-funded research results, shows the complexity of the disorder as well as emphasizing the importance of understanding why a mother's immune system may affect delivery. Early brain development of children '.

The study called ' Antibody from the mother reacting to protein in the fetal brain ' will be released in March 2008 in Neurotoxicology. The research was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and MIND Institute.