"Strikingly, a distinct picture of immune dysfunction has emerged and been supported by many independent studies over the past decade. Many players in the immune-ASD puzzle may be mechanistically contributing to pathogenesis of these disorders, including skewed cytokine responses, differences in total numbers and frequencies of immune cells and their subsets, neuroinflammation, and adaptive and innate immune dysfunction, as well as altered levels of immunoglobulin and the presence of autoantibodies which have been found in a substantial number of individuals with ASD.
The immune dysfunction driving the development of autoantibodies and overall immune abnormalities in people with ASD remains unknown, however, recent insights into dysbiosis causing aberrant immune system education could be a plausible mechanism as to the origin of immune dysfunction. Prenatal immune influences could be driving direct and/or epigenetic changes in gene expression responsible for altered neurodevelopment. As future studies improve our understanding of these complex and interconnected systems, it will allow for development of new therapies that target immune dysfunction in ASD."
