TITLE:
Nuclear Factor-Kappa B and Other Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in Serum of Autistic Children
AUTHORS:
Omar M. E. Abdel-Salam, Eman R. Youness, Nadia A. Mohammed, Walaa A. Abu Elhamed
KEYWORDS:
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Oxidative Stress, Redox-Sensing Transcription Factor
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Molecular and Integrative Physiology,
Vol.5 No.1,
February
16,
2015
ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to investigate the status of oxidative stress in the serum of children affected with autism spectrum disorder. Twenty autistic children aged 3 to 12 years, were gender and age-matched with 20 typically developing children. Changes in the levels of the redox-sensing transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) was measured in serum of autistic children and controls. Other oxidative stress biomarkers such as malondialdehyde, reduced glutathione, total antioxidant capacity, catalase activity, and paraoxonase 1 activity were determined in serum as well. Significant increase was observed in serum NF-κB of autistic children compared to that in controls (by 138.6%). There was also marked increase in malondialdehyde level by 87.3% in autistic patients. Meanwhile, there were significant decreases in reduced glutathione (by 24%), catalase activity (by 40.8%), paraoxonase 1 activity (by 36.6%), and total antioxidant capacity (by 36.5%) compared to the control group. These data clearly demonstrate increased oxidative stress in serum of autistic children and suggest that the NF-κB signaling pathway is activated in autism, possibly due to increased oxidative burden.