High serum levels of S100B, NSE, tau, active caspase-3, M30 and M65 in children with autism spectrum disorders

HAMZA AYAYDIN ^1*, ADNAN KİRMİT ², HAKİM ÇELİK ³, ismail akaltun ⁴, ismail KOYUNCU ², şermin BİLGEN ULGAR ¹

¹Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, ²Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, ³Department of Physiology, Harran University Faculty of Medicine, ⁴Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Gaziantep Dr. Ersin Arslan Training and Research Hospital

Received: November 15, 2019; Revised: January 14, 2020; Accepted: January 14, 2020; Published online: January 14, 2020.

Abstract: Objective: The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate whether neuronal, axonal, and glial cell markers (Neuron-specific enolase (NSE), tau, serum 100 beta protein (S100B), respectively) and apoptosis markers (active caspase 3, M30, M65) and whether these parameters can be used as diagnostic biomarkers in ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders).
Methods: This study measured the serum S100B, NSE, tau, active caspase 3, M30, and M65 levels in 43 patients with ASD (aged 3-12 years) and in 41 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. ASD severity was rated using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). The serum levels were determined in the biochemistry laboratory using the ELISA technique. The receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve method was employed to evaluate the accuracy of the parameters in diagnosing ASD.
Results: Serum S100B, tau, NSE, active caspase-3, M30, and M65 levels were significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group (p<0.001, p=0.002, p=0.002, p=0.005, p<0.001, and p=0.004, respectively). The cut-off value of S100B was 48.085 pg/ml (sensitivity: 74.4%, specificity: 80.5%, AUC: 0.879, p< 0.001).
Conclusion: Apoptosis increased in children with ASD, and neuronal, axonal, and glial cell injury was observed. In addition, S100B may be an important diagnostic biomarker in patients with ASD. Apoptosis, and neuronal, axonal and astrocyte pathologies may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of ASD, and further studies are now required to confirm this.; Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, S100B, NSE, tau, apoptosis, active caspae 3

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