A new study has found that exposure to male hormones known as androgens can alter genes related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The work was recently published in Biological Psychiatry and comes from researchers at the University of Strasbourg.
Using male human cells, the researchers found genes that are regulated by testosterone and contribute to the risk for autism. To do this, they treated human pluripotent neural stems cells with testosterone metabolite DHT and looked at the changes in expression of about 200 genes. Genes that were affected include NRCAM, which has been linked to the brain abnormalities and symptoms in ASD, and FAM107A, which is increased in people with ASD. The androgens increased the spread of cells and prevented them from death, which explains the excessive brain growth that occurs in males with ASD.
"These effects of male hormones may therefore contribute to the increased sensitivity of the male brain to develop ASD when also exposed to other genetic or environmental factors," said Amélie Piton, senior author of the paper. Piton also notes that the genes they found may also be useful to study to see if they are involved in other diseases that occur more often in males than females.