Dataset Information

Lack of infection with XMRV or other MLV-related viruses in blood, post-mortem brains and paternal gametes of autistic individuals.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impaired language, communication and social skills, as well as by repetitive and stereotypic patterns of behavior. Many autistic subjects display a dysregulation of the immune system which is compatible with an unresolved viral infection with prenatal onset, potentially due to vertical viral transmission. Recently, the xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) has been implicated in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and in prostate cancer by several, though not all studies. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We assessed whether XMRV or other murine leukemia virus (MLV)-related viruses are involved in autistic disorder. Using nested PCR targeted to gag genomic sequences, we screened DNA samples from: (i) peripheral blood of 102 ASD patients and 97 controls, (ii) post-mortem brain samples of 20 ASD patients and 17 sex- and age-matched controls, (iii) semen samples of 11 fathers of ASD children, 25 infertile individuals and 7 fertile controls. No XMRV gag DNA sequences were detected, whereas peripheral blood samples of 3/97 (3.1%) controls were positive for MLV. CONCLUSIONS| SIGNIFICANCE: No MLV-related virus was detected in blood, brain, and semen samples of ASD patients or fathers. Hence infection with XMRV or other MLV-related viruses is unlikely to contribute to autism pathogenesis.

SUBMITTER: Lintas C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3043069 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Lack of infection with XMRV or other MLV-related viruses in blood, post-mortem brains and paternal gametes of autistic individuals.

Lintas Carla C Guidi Francesco F Manzi Barbara B Mancini Antonio A Curatolo Paolo P Persico Antonio M AM

PloS one 20110223 2

<h4>Background</h4>Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impaired language, communication and social skills, as well as by repetitive and stereotypic patterns of behavior. Many autistic subjects display a dysregulation of the immune system which is compatible with an unresolved viral infection with prenatal onset, potentially due to vertical viral transmission. Recently, the xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) has been implicated in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) ...[more]

PMID: 21373179

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Project description:BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder, affecting 1-2% of children. Studies have revealed genetic and cellular abnormalities in the brains of affected individuals, leading to both regional and distal cell communication deficits.MethodsRecent application of single-cell technologies, especially single-cell transcriptomics, has significantly expanded our understanding of brain cell heterogeneity and further demonstrated that multiple cell types and brain layers or regions are perturbed in autism. The underlying high-dimensional single-cell data provides opportunities for multilevel computational analysis that collectively can better deconvolute the molecular and cellular events altered in autism. Here, we apply advanced computation and pattern recognition approaches on single-cell RNA-seq data to infer and compare inter-cell-type signaling communications in autism brains and controls.ResultsOur results indicate that at a global level, there are cell-cell communication differences in autism in comparison with controls, largely involving neurons as both signaling senders and receivers, but glia also contribute to the communication disruption. Although the magnitude of changes is moderate, we find that excitatory and inhibitor neurons are involved in multiple intercellular signaling that exhibits increased strengths in autism, such as NRXN and CNTN signaling. Not all genes in the intercellular signaling pathways show differential expression, but genes in the affected pathways are enriched for axon guidance, synapse organization, neuron migration, and other critical cellular functions. Furthermore, those genes are highly connected to and enriched for genes previously associated with autism risks.ConclusionsOverall, our proof-of-principle computational study using single-cell data uncovers key intercellular signaling pathways that are potentially disrupted in the autism brains, suggesting that more studies examining cross-cell type effects can be valuable for understanding autism pathogenesis.

Dataset Information

Lack of infection with XMRV or other MLV-related viruses in blood, post-mortem brains and paternal gametes of autistic individuals.

Publications

Lack of infection with XMRV or other MLV-related viruses in blood, post-mortem brains and paternal gametes of autistic individuals.

Similar Datasets

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