Relationship between microglial activation and serotoninergic or cholinergic system in the brain of subjects with autism spectrum disorder

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25670513
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Psychiatric science
• Research Institution: Hamamatsu University School of Medicine
• Principal Investigator: IIDA TAEKO 浜松医科大学, 医学部附属病院, 作業療法士 (70616474)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): SUZUKI Katsuaki 浜松医科大学, 医学部, 准教授 (00285040) ; TAKEBAYASHI Kiyokazu 浜松医科大学, 医学部附属病院, 講師 (50397428)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): TSUCHIYA Kenji 浜松医科大学, 子どものこころの発達研究センター, 准教授 (20362189)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 自閉スペクトラム症 / ポジトロン断層法 / セロトニン・トランスポーター / アセチルコリンエステラーゼ / ミクログリア

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Aim of the current study was to examine whether regional microglial activations were correlated with dysfunctions in central serotoninergic or cholinergic systems in the brain of subjects with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To test this, we recruited male adults with ASD and microglial activation in the brain was measured by means of positron emission tomography (PET) and a tracer 11C-PK11195. Either brain serotonin transporter binding or acetylcholinesterase activity was also measured by PET and 11C-McN5652 or 11C-MP4A, respectively. Their parametric maps were obtained and subjected to correlation analyses using SPM. As a result, we found that (1) there was a significant negative correlation between 11C-PK11195 binding and 11C-McN5652 binding in the pons, and (2) there were several clusters of voxels where regional 11C-PK11195 binding positively correlated with 11C-MP4A k3 value at the region. Further study is warranted to clarify a role played by activated microglia in ASD brain.

Free Research Field

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