Potential protein markers in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) revealed by salivary proteomics

Abstract

The lack of specific pharmacological therapy for Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and its clinical heterogeneity demand efforts directed toward the identification of biomarkers to aid in diagnosis. Proteomics offers a new perspective for studying the altered proteins associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and we have saliva as an easy-to-collect biological fluid with important biomolecules for investigating biomarkers in various diseases. In this sense, saliva could be used to identify potential biomarkers of ASD. In the current work, saliva samples were collected from children with different degrees of ASD and healthy children and proteomics approaches were applied to generate data on differentially expressed proteins between groups which will serve as a basis for future validation studies as protein markers. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD030065. As results, 132 proteins were present in 80% of the saliva pools of all analyzed groups. Twenty-five proteins were identified as overexpressed in the group of severe and mild/moderate ASD carriers, among which, eight were identified as potential biomarkers for ASD.

Keywords: Biological fluid; Childhood autism; Diagnosis.