The Cellular Immune Response to BDE-49 in Children with Autism

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are a group of broad-spectrum neurodevelopmental disorders characterized behaviorally by fixation, repetition, decreased response to social stimuli, and delayed language acquisition. Physiological differences are known to include immune system abnormalities such as skewed cytokine expression and an increased prevalence of specific autoantibodies. ASD manifests in childhood, and etiological susceptibility is likely to include both environmental and genetic factors. Persistent organic pollutants such as polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE or BDE) affect immune function, and in vitro exposure of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to BDE-47 in pediatric populations of ASD have shown differential cytokine expression to typically developing (TD) populations. Our lab studied the presence of brain-specific autoantibodies in pediatric ASD populations as well as the effects of a different PBDE, BDE-49, on PBMC cytokine expression in these same populations. Our goal was to determine the relationship, if any, between cytokine profiles and diagnosis in ASD children. PBMC were exposed to 50 uM and 250 uM BDE-49, followed by a stimulation with the TLR agonist lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA), a popular mitogen for studying adaptive immune responses. Supernatant cytokine concentrations were determined using the Luminex^™ multiplex platform. The relationship between dysregulated cytokine profiles and diagnosis in this study has of yet not been determined. A positive relationship could support both genetic and environmental bases in the susceptibility to immune dysregulation in the development of autism.