Innate Immunity and Neuroinflammation in Neuropsychiatric Conditions Including Autism Spectrum Disorders: Role of Innate Immune Memory

Abstract

The neuroimmune network represents a dense network of multiple signals mediated by neurotransmitters, hormones, growth factors, and cytokines produced by multiple lineage cells and is crucial for maintaining neuroimmune homeostasis. Endogenous and exogenous stimuli, which are dangerous to the body, are detected by sensor cells, and they rapidly inform the brain through this network. Innate immunity is thought to play a major role in the neuroimmune network, through cytokines and other mediators released from secretary innate immune cells. Recent research has revealed that innate immunity has its own memory. This is accomplished by metabolic and epigenetic changes. Such changes may result in augmenting immune protection with a risk of excessive inflammatory responses to subsequent stimuli (trained immunity). Alternatively, innate immune memory can induce suppressive effects (tolerance), which may impose a risk of impaired immune defense. Innate immune memory affects the neuroimmune network for a prolonged period, and dysregulated innate immune memory has been implicated with pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric conditions. This chapter summarizes a role of innate immune memory (trained immunity vs. tolerance) in neuroinflammation in association with neuropsychiatric conditions including autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Associations between Monocyte Cytokine Profiles and Co-Morbid Conditions in Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…Clinical characteristics: Frequencies of co-morbid conditions among the recruited ASD subjects are summarized in Table 2. These results are consistent with the results of our previous studies [12,29]. Age and gender were not associated with ASD severity (data now shown).…”

“…Therefore, we decided to assess changes of monocyte cytokine parameters in association with co-morbid conditions frequently found in ASD subjects. We found GI symptoms along with NFA or FPIES like conditions in ASD subjects at high frequency (>60%), which was consistent to our previous studies [10,12,29]. Most of the ASD patients with GI symptoms had a history of FPIES like symptoms ( Table 2).…”

Improvement of sleep and melatonin in children with autism spectrum disorder after β‐1,3/1,6‐glucan consumption: An open‐label prospective pilot clinical study

“…Beta‐glucans have also been shown to reduce the underlying chronic inflammation associated with gut dysbiosis, as well as to help foster a healthy microbiome. This is advantageous for individuals with ASD as chronic inflammation has been shown to be associated with symptom severity (Jyonouchidoi, 2019 ). Thus, as the current study showed that β‐glucans can enhance melatonin and sleep quality in children with ASD, it is necessary to further investigate the ability of β‐glucans to modulate gut microbiota and reverse gut dysbiosis, which are the possible mechanisms behind altered melatonin levels (Cheng et al., 2020 ; Russcher et al., 2013 ; Shi et al., 2020 ), and thereby improve sleep.…”