Association of endocannabinoid and its metabolic enzymes with severity in children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Objective To explore the relationship between endocannabinoid (eCB) and its metabolic enzymes and severity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and to provide a theoretical basis for the study of the etiology and pathogenesis of ASD. Methods A case-control study was conducted to collect 58 ASD children who underwent rehabilitation training at the Children's Developmental Behavior Research Center of Harbin Medical University and the provincial autism rehabilitation facility from December 2017 to December 2018 as the ASD group.According to the principle of gender and age 1∶1 matching, 58 normal children were selected as control group in Heilongjiang Province.Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) were used to detect eCB of ASD group and control group, including anandamide (AEA), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), oleoylethanolamide (OEA) and its metabolic enzymes: n-acylphosphatidylethanolamine-specific phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD), fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) and diacylglycerol lipase (DAGL) mRNA expression levels.Pearson correlation was used to analyze the level of eCB and ASD children's severity. Results The levels of AEA, OEA and PEA in ASD children ((10.10±2.6)nmol/L, (24.30±5.60)nmol/L, (15.92±2.28)nmol/L) were lower than those in the control group ((13.46±3.04)nmol/L, (27.85± 6.89)nmol/L, (17.87±2.67)nmol/L, t=-6.612, -3.99, -4.779, P 0.05). The level of PEA in the ASD group was negatively correlated with the total score of the autism behavior checklist (ABC) (r=-0.288, P<0.05). Conclusion There may be metabolic abnormalities in eCB and its metabolic enzymes in ASD children, and the level of eCB is related with the severity of ASD. Key words: Autism spectrum disorder; Endocannabinoid; Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry