Immune dysfunction in the cerebellum of mice lacking the autism candidate gene Engrailed 2

J Neuroimmunol. 2022 Jun 15:367:577870. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2022.577870. Epub 2022 Apr 16.

Abstract

Immune system dysfunction has been described in autism spectrum disorder. Here we tested the hypothesis that cerebellar defects are accompanied by immune dysfunction in adult mice lacking the autism-candidate gene Engrailed 2 (En2). Gene ontology analyses revealed that biological processes related to immune function were over-represented in the cerebellar transcriptome of En2-/- mice. Pro-inflammatory molecules and chemokines were reduced in the En2-/- cerebellum compared to controls. Conversely, pro-inflammatory molecules were increased in the peripheral blood of mutant mice. Our results suggest a link between immune dysfunction and cerebellar defects detected in En2-/- mice.

Keywords: Autism; Blood; Cerebellum; Cytokine; Inflammation; Lymphocyte.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder*
  • Autistic Disorder* / genetics
  • Cerebellum / immunology
  • Cerebellum / physiopathology
  • Homeodomain Proteins* / genetics
  • Mice
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins* / genetics

Substances

  • Homeodomain Proteins
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • engrailed 2 protein