Autism spectrum disorders: is mesenchymal stem cell personalized therapy the future?

Abstract

Autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders. They are enigmatic conditions that have their origins in the interaction of genes and environmental factors. ASDs are characterized by dysfunctions in social interaction and communication skills, in addition to repetitive and stereotypic verbal and nonverbal behaviours. Immune dysfunction has been confirmed with autistic children. There are no defined mechanisms of pathogenesis or curative therapy presently available. Indeed, ASDs are still untreatable. Available treatments for autism can be divided into behavioural, nutritional, and medical approaches, although no defined standard approach exists. Nowadays, stem cell therapy represents the great promise for the future of molecular medicine. Among the stem cell population, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) show probably best potential good results in medical research. Due to the particular immune and neural dysregulation observed in ASDs, mesenchymal stem cell transplantation could offer a unique tool to provide better resolution for this disease.

Figure 1

Paracrine and immunomodulatory effects as possible mechanisms of action of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) treatment. In humans, ASDs are associated with immune alterations and pro-inflammatory cytokines (i.e., IL-1β) over-production. These cytokines are able to trigger pro-inflammatory cellular events. Data from in vitro models show that MSCs are able to affect not only T cells, but also other cells of the immune system (i.e., NK cells). Immunoregulatory properties of MSCs are through secretion of large amounts of several bioactive molecules (paracrine activity), that is, PGE-2, IL-10. These molecules cause the inhibition or the unresponsiveness of T-cell mediated responses.