Profile of Some Cytokines in Sera of Children with Autism Syndrome

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a spectrum of behavioral anomalies
characterized by impairment in social interactions and communication deficits. A
potential role for immune dysfunction has been suggested in ASD. To test this
hypothesis, certain cytokines: IL-2, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17A and IFN-γ were
investigated in serum of all participants. The study includes: 39 child (male and
female) aged < 5 to10 years with confirmed diagnosis of autism using standard
assessment, age and gender matched 24 confirmed healthy children and 19 non
autistic siblings used as controls. Serum was isolated and cytokines were detected
using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The observations indicate a
significant increase (P < 0.05) in autistic patients serum levels of IL-10 compared
with healthy control, but with lack of significant difference with their related non
autistic siblings. Whereas detection of IL-12 and IFN-γ in the autistic patients serum
showed significantly decrease level (P < 0.05) compared with healthy control, but
with lack of significant difference with their related non autistic siblings. On the
other hand, detection of IL-2 and IL-17A results showed no significant (P > 0.05)
differences compared with healthy control and non autistic siblings.