Authors Suggest Maternal Brain-Reactive Antibodies May Account for up to 20% of ASD Cases
A team of scientists from the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research recently conducted a review that summarizes data from clinical and animal models detailing the role that pathogenic maternal antibodies (Abs) have in the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The authors specifically examined maternal brain-reactive antibodies, which are molecules that are present in the maternal circulation that has the potential to profoundly and irreversibly alter the development of the vulnerable fetal brain, which has not yet developed the protection of the blood-brain barrier. The authors suggest that maternal brain-reactive Abs are an overlooked and promising field of ASD research that represents a modifiable risk factor and could account for up to 20% of ASD cases. By analyzing data from studies dating back to 1971, the team discovered that the body of research demonstrated that the placental transfer of maternal Abs into the fetus alters the fetal brain tissue and has confirmed a causal role for maternal Abs in neuroanatomical and behavioral changes associated with ASD. The team notes that not all Abs targeting brain antigens will affect brain development. They state that mothers harboring anti-brain Abs can still give birth to a typically developing child. The authors suggest that this discrepancy could be due to several factors including maternal microbiota, maternal inflammatory responses, or fetal genetics that could modulate the effects of anti-brain Abs. The team believes that their findings provide strong evidence that a subset of ASD results from maternal Abs affecting biological processes during critical periods of brain development. The review concludes with a call for more studies that can better characterize the Abs that contribute to the risk of having a child with ASD to predict cases of ASD related to maternal brain-reactive Abs. The team also suggests that blocking maternal antibodies from binding agents in the fetal brain could be possible, which would stop autism from developing in the first place.
