The expression of caspases is enhanced in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of autism spectrum disorder patients.
Kids with autism show extra caspase in blood cells, hinting at chronic immune stress, but the marker is not ready for clinic use.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Siniscalco et al. (2012) drew blood from kids with autism and from kids without.
They looked at white blood cells and measured caspase mRNA and protein.
Caspases are enzymes that tell us a cell is under stress or starting to die.
What they found
Children with autism had more caspase in their blood cells than controls.
The rise showed up in both the RNA message and the actual protein.
Higher caspase means the immune cells are on high alert.
How this fits with other research
Hu et al. (2018) saw the same immune alarm in Chinese kids with autism.
They found high cytokines in plasma, while Dario found high caspase in cells.
Both point to an immune system that stays switched on.
Ch'ng et al. (2015) pooled over 1,000 gene chips and found blood results were all over the map.
That meta-analysis helps explain why a single caspase marker may not give you a clear red flag.
Why it matters
You cannot test caspase in clinic yet, but you can watch for signs of immune stress.
Look for sleep loss, fever cycles, or gut pain that flare behavior problems.
Share these clues with the pediatrician so medical and ABA teams work together.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are heterogeneous complex neuro-developmental disorders characterized by dysfunctions in social interaction and communication skills. Their pathogenesis has been linked to interactions between genes and environmental factors. Consistent with the evidence of certain similarities between immune cells and neurons, autistic children also show an altered immune response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). In this study, we investigated the activation of caspases, cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteases involved in apoptosis and several other cell functions in PBMCs from 15 ASD children compared to age-matched normal healthy developing controls. The mRNA levels for caspase-1, -2, -4, -5 were significantly increased in ASD children as compared to healthy subjects. Protein levels of Caspase-3, -7, -12 were also increased in ASD patients. Our data are suggestive of a possible role of the caspase pathway in ASD clinical outcome and of the use of caspase as potential diagnostic and/or therapeutic tools in ASD management.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2012 · doi:10.1007/s10803-011-1373-z