No preliminary evidence of differences in astrocyte density within the white matter of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in autism
Abstract Background While evidence for white matter and astrocytic abnormalities exist in autism, a detailed investigation of astrocytes has not been conducted. Such an investigation is further warranted by an increasing role for neuroinflammation in autism pathogenesis, with astrocytes being key pl...
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doaj-30a3a9de9a0e4a0aa029f7a9402c896b2020-11-25T00:38:31ZengBMCMolecular Autism2040-23922017-12-01811810.1186/s13229-017-0181-5No preliminary evidence of differences in astrocyte density within the white matter of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in autismTing Ting Lee0Efstratios Skafidas1Mirella Dottori2Daniela Zantomio3Christos Pantelis4Ian Everall5Gursharan Chana6Department of Psychiatry, The University of MelbourneDepartment of Psychiatry, The University of MelbourneCentre for Neural Engineering, The University of MelbourneDepartment of Clinical Haematology, Austin HospitalDepartment of Psychiatry, The University of MelbourneDepartment of Psychiatry, The University of MelbourneDepartment of Psychiatry, The University of MelbourneAbstract Background While evidence for white matter and astrocytic abnormalities exist in autism, a detailed investigation of astrocytes has not been conducted. Such an investigation is further warranted by an increasing role for neuroinflammation in autism pathogenesis, with astrocytes being key players in this process. We present the first study of astrocyte density and morphology within the white matter of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in individuals with autism. Methods DLPFC formalin-fixed sections containing white matter from individuals with autism (n = 8, age = 4–51 years) and age-matched controls (n = 7, age = 4–46 years) were immunostained for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Density of astrocytes and other glia were estimated via the optical fractionator, astrocyte somal size estimated via the nucleator, and astrocyte process length via the spaceballs probe. Results We found no evidence for alteration in astrocyte density within DLPFC white matter of individuals with autism versus controls, together with no differences in astrocyte somal size and process length. Conclusion Our results suggest that astrocyte abnormalities within the white matter in the DLPFC in autism may be less pronounced than previously thought. However, astrocytic dysregulation may still exist in autism, even in the absence of gross morphological changes. Our lack of evidence for astrocyte abnormalities could have been confounded to an extent by having a small sample size and wide age range, with pathological features potentially restricted to early stages of autism. Nonetheless, future investigations would benefit from assessing functional markers of astrocytes in light of the underlying pathophysiology of autism.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13229-017-0181-5AstrocytesGliaAutismDorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)Cell densityWhite matter |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Ting Ting Lee Efstratios Skafidas Mirella Dottori Daniela Zantomio Christos Pantelis Ian Everall Gursharan Chana |
spellingShingle |
Ting Ting Lee Efstratios Skafidas Mirella Dottori Daniela Zantomio Christos Pantelis Ian Everall Gursharan Chana No preliminary evidence of differences in astrocyte density within the white matter of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in autism Molecular Autism Astrocytes Glia Autism Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) Cell density White matter |
author_facet |
Ting Ting Lee Efstratios Skafidas Mirella Dottori Daniela Zantomio Christos Pantelis Ian Everall Gursharan Chana |
author_sort |
Ting Ting Lee |
title |
No preliminary evidence of differences in astrocyte density within the white matter of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in autism |
title_short |
No preliminary evidence of differences in astrocyte density within the white matter of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in autism |
title_full |
No preliminary evidence of differences in astrocyte density within the white matter of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in autism |
title_fullStr |
No preliminary evidence of differences in astrocyte density within the white matter of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in autism |
title_full_unstemmed |
No preliminary evidence of differences in astrocyte density within the white matter of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in autism |
title_sort |
no preliminary evidence of differences in astrocyte density within the white matter of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in autism |
publisher |
BMC |
series |
Molecular Autism |
issn |
2040-2392 |
publishDate |
2017-12-01 |
description |
Abstract Background While evidence for white matter and astrocytic abnormalities exist in autism, a detailed investigation of astrocytes has not been conducted. Such an investigation is further warranted by an increasing role for neuroinflammation in autism pathogenesis, with astrocytes being key players in this process. We present the first study of astrocyte density and morphology within the white matter of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in individuals with autism. Methods DLPFC formalin-fixed sections containing white matter from individuals with autism (n = 8, age = 4–51 years) and age-matched controls (n = 7, age = 4–46 years) were immunostained for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Density of astrocytes and other glia were estimated via the optical fractionator, astrocyte somal size estimated via the nucleator, and astrocyte process length via the spaceballs probe. Results We found no evidence for alteration in astrocyte density within DLPFC white matter of individuals with autism versus controls, together with no differences in astrocyte somal size and process length. Conclusion Our results suggest that astrocyte abnormalities within the white matter in the DLPFC in autism may be less pronounced than previously thought. However, astrocytic dysregulation may still exist in autism, even in the absence of gross morphological changes. Our lack of evidence for astrocyte abnormalities could have been confounded to an extent by having a small sample size and wide age range, with pathological features potentially restricted to early stages of autism. Nonetheless, future investigations would benefit from assessing functional markers of astrocytes in light of the underlying pathophysiology of autism. |
topic |
Astrocytes Glia Autism Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) Cell density White matter |
url |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13229-017-0181-5 |
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