| Title |
Brain Region-Specific Glutathione Redox Imbalance in Autism
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Neurochemical Research, April 2012
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s11064-012-0775-4 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Abha Chauhan, Tapan Audhya, Ved Chauhan |
| Abstract |
Autism is a heterogeneous, behaviorally defined neurodevelopmental disorder. Recently, we reported a brain region-specific increase in lipid peroxidation, and deficits in mitochondrial electron transport chain complexes in autism, suggesting the role of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathophysiology of autism. However, the antioxidant status of the brain is not known in autism. Glutathione is a major endogenous antioxidant that plays a crucial role in protecting cells from exogenous and endogenous toxins, particularly in the central nervous system. The present study examines the concentrations of glutathione (GSH, reduced form; and GSSG, oxidized form) and the redox ratio of GSH to GSSG (marker of oxidative stress) in different regions of brains from autistic subjects and age-matched control subjects. In the cerebellum and temporal cortex from subjects with autism, GSH levels were significantly decreased by 34.2 and 44.6 %, with a concomitant increase in the levels of GSSG by 38.2 and 45.5 %, respectively, as compared to the control group. There was also a significant decrease in the levels of total GSH (tGSH) by 32.9 % in the cerebellum, and by 43.1 % in the temporal cortex of subjects with autism. In contrast, there was no significant change in GSH, GSSG and tGSH levels in the frontal, parietal and occipital cortices in autism versus control group. The redox ratio of GSH to GSSG was also significantly decreased by 52.8 % in the cerebellum and by 60.8 % in the temporal cortex of subjects with autism, suggesting glutathione redox imbalance in the brain of individuals with autism. These findings indicate that autism is associated with deficits in glutathione antioxidant defense in selective regions of the brain. We suggest that disturbances in brain glutathione homeostasis may contribute to oxidative stress, immune dysfunction and apoptosis, particularly in the cerebellum and temporal lobe, and may lead to neurodevelopmental abnormalities in autism. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 13 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2 | 15% |
| Canada | 2 | 15% |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 1 | 8% |
| Germany | 1 | 8% |
| Spain | 1 | 8% |
| Unknown | 6 | 46% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 13 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 114 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | 1 | <1% |
| United States | 1 | <1% |
| Unknown | 112 | 98% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 22 | 19% |
| Student > Bachelor | 14 | 12% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 13 | 11% |
| Other | 11 | 10% |
| Researcher | 11 | 10% |
| Other | 23 | 20% |
| Unknown | 20 | 18% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 21 | 18% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 18 | 16% |
| Neuroscience | 18 | 16% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 8 | 7% |
| Psychology | 6 | 5% |
| Other | 17 | 15% |
| Unknown | 26 | 23% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 13. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 29 December 2019.
All research outputs
#2,823,053
of 25,654,806 outputs
Outputs from Neurochemical Research
#88
of 2,276 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#17,131
of 174,584 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Neurochemical Research
#1
of 25 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,654,806 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 88th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,276 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.0. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 96% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 25 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 96% of its contemporaries.