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PMID: 19002745 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Expression of GABA(B) receptors is altered in brains of subjects with autism.

Cerebellum (London, England) ·Vol. 8 ·No. 1 ·2009-03-00 ·Pages 64-9

Fatemi SH, Folsom TD, Reutiman TJ, Thuras PD

Abstract

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is often comorbid with seizures. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in brain. GABA(B) receptors play an important role in maintaining excitatory-inhibitory balance in brain and alterations may lead to seizures. We compared levels of GABA(B) receptor subunits GABA(B) receptor 1 (GABBR1) and GABA(B) receptor 2 (GABBR2) in cerebellum, Brodmann's area 9 (BA9), and BA40 of subjects with autism and matched controls. Levels of GABBR1 were significantly decreased in BA9, BA40, and cerebellum, while GABBR2 was significantly reduced in the cerebellum. The presence of seizure disorder did not have a significant impact on the observed reductions in GABA(B) receptor subunit expression. Decreases in GABA(B) receptor subunits may help explain the presence of seizures that are often comorbid with autism, as well as cognitive difficulties prevalent in autism.

MeSH Terms
Adolescent Adult Autistic Disorder/genetics,pathology Cerebellum/metabolism,pathology Child Child, Preschool Female Frontal Lobe/metabolism,pathology Humans Male Parietal Lobe/metabolism,pathology Receptors, GABA-B/genetics,metabolism Reference Values Young Adult
Chemicals
GABA type B receptor, subunit 1 GABBR2 protein, human Receptors, GABA-B
Authors & Affiliations
4 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Fatemi S Hossein
Department of Psychiatry, Division of Neuroscience Research, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. fatem002@umn.edu
Folsom Timothy D
Reutiman Teri J
Thuras Paul D
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Article Info
Journal
Cerebellum (London, England)
Abbr.
Cerebellum
ISSN
1473-4230
DOI
10.1007/s12311-008-0075-3
Email
fatem002@umn.edu
Published
2009-03-00
Pages
64-9
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
101089443
PMCID
PMC2732344
Subset
IM
Grants
NICHD NIH HHS · R01 HD052074 · United States
NICHD NIH HHS · R01 HD052074-02 · United States
NIMH NIH HHS · R24 MH068855 · United States
NICHD NIH HHS · 5R01HD052074-01A2 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1007/s12311-008-0075-3 PMC Full Text View journal details
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