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Opioid peptides and dipeptidyl peptidase in autism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2003

L C Hunter ,
A O'Hare ,
W J Herron ,
L A Fisher  and
G E Jones
L C Hunter
Affiliation:
YAbA Ltd, Logan Building, Roslin Biocentre, Midlothian, Scotland, UK.
A O'Hare
Affiliation:
Community Child Health Services, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, 10 Chalmers Crescent, Edinburgh EH9 1TS, Scotland, UK.
W J Herron
Affiliation:
Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Quintiles Ltd, Heriot-Watt University Research Park, Edinburgh, UK.
L A Fisher
Affiliation:
Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Quintiles Ltd, Heriot-Watt University Research Park, Edinburgh, UK.
G E Jones
Affiliation:
YAbA Ltd, Logan Building, Roslin Biocentre, Midlothian, Scotland, UK.
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Abstract

It has been hypothesized that autism results from an ‘opioid peptide excess’. The aims of this study were to (1) confirm the presence of opioid peptides in the urine of children with autism and (2) determine whether dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV/CD26) is defective in children with autism. Opioid peptides were not detected in either the urine of children with autism (10 children; nine males, one female; age range 2 years 6 months to 10 years 1 month) or their siblings (10 children; seven males, three females; age range 2 years 3 months to 12 years 7 months) using liquid chromatography-ultraviolet-mass spectrometric analysis (LC-UV-MS). Plasma from 11 normally developing adults (25 years 5 months to 55 years 5 months) was also tested. The amount and activity of DPPIV in the plasma were quantified by an ELISA and DPPIV enzyme assay respectively; DPPIV was not found to be defective. The percentage of mononuclear cells expressing DPPIV (as CD26) was determined by flow cytometry. Children with autism had a significantly lower percentage of cells expressing CD3 and CD26, suggesting that they had lower T-cell numbers than their siblings. In conclusion, this study failed to replicate the findings of others and questions the validity of the opioid peptide excess theory for the cause of autism.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , February 2003 , pp. 121 - 128
Copyright
© 2003 Mac Keith Press

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