Biomarker for Autism

Project background

Preterm birth and its associated complications are among the most serious global health issues that modern society faces. Particularly, extreme prematurity (<28 gestational weeks) is associated with a marked elevated risk for Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Active neuroinflammatory processes have been detected in postmortem brain tissue from autistic patients. It has been suggested that the combination of premature birth and susceptibility genes may make infants more vulnerable to environmental factors such as infections after birth, thus contributing to autism pathogenesis. In support, we showed that neonatal inflammation in preterm mice resulted in autistic like phenotype with correspond neuropathological changes.

Further, we proposed that neonatal inflammation could induce susceptibility to neurodevelopmental disorders through modification of hippocampal gliovascular interface in a sex-dependent manner. Despite the considerable progress in this area, many important questions remain, particularly regarding the mechanisms by which environmental or intrinsic signaling regulates sequential circuit integration with the consequence of brain development impairment. Accordingly, the current project will identify important autistic-related biomarker profiles to better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and therefore enable early and both more precise diagnoses and more effective treatment of ASD in the future.

Group members

• Maryam Ardalan, MD, PhD, Researcher, Group Leader
• Seyedeh Marziyeh Jabbari Shiadeh, PhD, Postdoctor
• Sofia Rasmusson, MD, Doctoral student
• Wing Ki Chan, MD, Doctoral student
• Chian Irandust, Medical student

Funding

• Lundbeck Foundation: International post-doc fellowship 2020
• Project-bound doctoral student position at Sahlgrenska Academy 2022
• Swedish Research Council: Starting Grant 2023

Collaborators

• Professor Carina Mallard
• Professor Gregers Wegener
• Professor Thomas Jansson
• Dr Regina Vontell