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Layer-Specific Changes in the Prefrontal Glia/Neuron Ratio Characterizes Patches of Gene Expression Disorganization in Children with Autism.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is manifested by abnormal cell numbers and patches of gene expression disruption in higher-order brain regions. Here, we investigated whether layer-specific changes in glia/neuron ratios (GNR) characterize patches in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DL-PFC) of child...

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Published in:Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders Vol. 53; no. 9; pp. 3648 - 3659
Main Authors: Rabelo, Livia Nascimento, Queiroz, José Pablo Gonçalves, Castro, Carla Cristina Miranda, Silva, Sayonara Pereira, Campos, Laura Damasceno, Silva, Larissa Camila, Nascimento, Ezequiel Batista, Martínez-Cerdeño, Veronica, Fiuza, Felipe Porto
Format: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Springer Nature Sep2023
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Summary:Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is manifested by abnormal cell numbers and patches of gene expression disruption in higher-order brain regions. Here, we investigated whether layer-specific changes in glia/neuron ratios (GNR) characterize patches in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DL-PFC) of children with ASD. We analyzed high-resolution digital images of postmortem human brains from 11 ASD and 11 non-ASD children obtained from the Autism Study of the Allen Human Brain Atlas. We found the GNR is overall reduced in the ASD DL-PFC. Moreover, layers II-III belonging to patches presented a lower GNR in comparison with layers V-VI. We here provide a new insight into how brain cells are arranged within patches that contributes to elucidate how neurodevelopmental programs are altered in ASD.