Abstract:

Objective To investigate changes of expressions of aerobic glycolytic enzymes in prefrontal cortex of patients with autism, identify the role of abnormal glucose metabolic process in the pathogenesis of autism, and provide the theoretical basis for the development of new drugs. Methods The Western blotting was adopted to detect expressions of aerobic glycolytic enzymes, including hexokinaseⅠ, hexokinaseⅡ, PKM1/2, PKM2, PDH, GAPDH, LDHA, and PFKP in the prefrontal cortex of patients with autism and age-matched controls. The expression of hexokinaseⅡ in the prefrontal cortex of patients with autism and age-matched controls was detected by the immunohistochemical method. Results The results of Western blotting indicated that compared with controls, expressions of both hexokinaseⅡ and PDH in prefrontal cortex of patients with autism significantly decreased, while expressions of other six enzymes showed no significant changes. The results of immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of hexokinaseⅡ in neural cells of prefrontal cortex of patients with autism decreased. Conclusion The decrease of hexokinaseⅡ and PDH expressions in prefrontal cortex of patients with autism is relevant to the impaired glucose metabolism in brain tissue and may involve in the development of autism.

Key words: autism, mitochondrial dysfunction, glycolytic enzymes