Original ArticleEvaluation of an association between gastrointestinal symptoms and cytokine production against common dietary proteins in children with autism spectrum disorders
Section snippets
Study Subjects
The study subjects included children (aged 1-10 years) in Tanner stage 1. Children with ASD were recruited from those referred to the Autism Center at the New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ, Newark, NJ. ASD diagnosis was made or ascertained by means of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV, the International Classification of Diseases-10 criteria, or both, the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, and Autism Diagnostic Observational
Cytokine Production in Response to Common DPs
Our findings in cytokine production with a stimulus of each DP tested were:
- 1)
CMP: PBMCs from both GI (+) and GI (−) ASD children produced more TNF-α and IL-12 than those from control subjects. NFH PBMCs produced more IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-10, and IL-12 than those from control subjects (Figure 1A).
- 2)
Casein: Cytokine production by PBMCs was minimal and did not differ among the study groups (data not shown).
- 3)
β-Lactoglobulin: PBMCs from GI (+) ASD children, but not from GI (−) children, produced more TNF-α
Discussion
Our results revealed a high prevalence (>70%) of cellular immune reactivity to CMP and its major components in GI (+) ASD children when positive reactivity is defined as >CM + 1SD production of TNF-α, IL-12, or both with CMP, β-lactoglobulin (a major component of CMP), or both. Such cellular reactivity was less remarkable with gliadin. Our findings indicate a possible role of NFH against CMPs in GI symptoms observed in children with ASD.
GI symptoms are frequently observed in children with ASD,
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Supported by the Jonty Foundation (St. Paul, Minnesota).