A team of American scientists identified a molecular network of genes that are an underlying cause of many autism spectrum disorders.
The team of researchers used gene expression data and genome sequencing on 25 study patients to examine the interactions within cells. Through the study, the researchers were able to identify a module of 119 proteins linked to autism genes, according to a news release.
After concluding that this molecular network of genes contributes to autism spectrum disorders, the researchers looked at 500 previously diagnosed autism patients to confirm their hypothesis.
"The study of autism disorders is extremely challenging due to the large number of clinical mutations that occur in hundreds of different human genes associated with autism," Michael Snyder, a professor at the Stanford Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine and the lead author of the study, said in the news release. "We therefore wanted to see to what extent shared molecular pathways are perturbed by the diverse set of mutations linked to autism in the hope of distilling tractable information that would benefit future studies."
The researchers also learned that the corpus callosum, a huge band of myelinated fibers, and oligodendrocyte, myelin-forming cells of the central nervous system, could also contribute to autism. Both are found in the brain.
The researchers believe that these combined findings are proof that autism occurs when disruptions in parts of the corpus callosum interfere with the circuitry that connects the two hemispheres of the brain.
The study focused on the importance of building integrative models to study complex human diseases. In America alone one in 68 children are identified with autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The research was published Tuesday in the journal Molecular Systems Biology.
