Autism spectrum disorders and disease modeling using stem cells

Author(s)

Brito, Anita ^{[1, 2]} ; Russo, Fabiele Baldino ^{[1, 2]} ; Muotri, Alysson Renato ^[3] ; Baleeiro Beltrao-Braga, Patricia Cristina ^{[1, 2, 4]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biomed Sci, Dept Microbiol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Surg, Stem Cell Lab, BR-05508270 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Calif San Diego, Sch Med, Rady Childrens Hosp San Diego, Dept Pediat, Dept Cellular & Mol Med, Stem Cell Pro, La Jolla, CA 92037 - USA

^[4] Sch Arts Sci & Humanities, Dept Obstet, BR-03828000 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Review article
• Source: Cell and Tissue Research; v. 371, n. 1, p. 153-160, JAN 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 3

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) represent a variety of disorders characterized as complex lifelong neurodevelopment disabilities, which may affect the ability of communication and socialization, including typical comportments like repetitive and stereotyped behavior. Other comorbidities are usually present, such as echolalia, hypotonia, intellectual disability and difficulties in processing figured speech. Furthermore, some ASD individuals may present certain abilities, such as eidetic memory, outstanding musical or painting talents and special mathematical skills, among others. Considering the variability of the clinical symptoms, one autistic individual can be severely affected in communication while others can speak perfectly, sometimes having a vocabulary above average in early childhood. The same variability can be seen in other clinical symptoms, thus the ``spectrum{''} can vary from severe to mild. Induced pluripotent stem cell technology has been used to model several neurological diseases, including syndromic and non-syndromic autism. We discuss how modeling the central nervous system cells in a dish may help to reach a better understanding of ASD pathology and variability, as well as personalize their treatment. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/20683-0 - Generation of induced pluripotent cells of patients with autistic disorder
• Grantee: Fabiele Baldino Russo
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate