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Oya M, Matsuoka K, Kubota M, Fujino J, Tei S, Takahata K, Tagai K, Yamamoto Y, Shimada H, Seki C, Itahashi T, Aoki YY, Ohta H, Hashimoto RI, Sugihara G, Obata T, Zhang MR, Suhara T, Nakamura M, Kato N, Takado Y, Takahashi H, Higuchi M. Increased glutamate and glutamine levels and their relationship to astrocytes and dopaminergic transmissions in the brains of adults with autism. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11655. [PMID: 37468523 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38306-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Increased excitatory neuronal tones have been implicated in autism, but its mechanism remains elusive. The amplified glutamate signals may arise from enhanced glutamatergic circuits, which can be affected by astrocyte activation and suppressive signaling of dopamine neurotransmission. We tested this hypothesis using magnetic resonance spectroscopy and positron emission tomography scan with 11C-SCH23390 for dopamine D1 receptors in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). We enrolled 18 male adults with high-functioning autism and 20 typically developed (TD) male subjects. The autism group showed elevated glutamate, glutamine, and myo-inositol (mI) levels compared with the TD group (p = 0.045, p = 0.044, p = 0.030, respectively) and a positive correlation between glutamine and mI levels in the ACC (r = 0.54, p = 0.020). In autism and TD groups, ACC D1 receptor radioligand binding was negatively correlated with ACC glutamine levels (r = - 0.55, p = 0.022; r = - 0.58, p = 0.008, respectively). The enhanced glutamate-glutamine metabolism might be due to astroglial activation and the consequent reinforcement of glutamine synthesis in autistic brains. Glutamine synthesis could underly the physiological inhibitory control of dopaminergic D1 receptor signals. Our findings suggest a high neuron excitation-inhibition ratio with astrocytic activation in the etiology of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaki Oya
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kiwamu Matsuoka
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan.
- Department of Psychiatry, Nara Medical University, Kashihara-shi, Nara, Japan.
| | - Manabu Kubota
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
- Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, Japan
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Junya Fujino
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shisei Tei
- Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, Japan
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Institute of Applied Brain Sciences, Waseda University, Tokorozawa-shi, Saitama, Japan
- School of Human and Social Sciences, Tokyo International University, Kawagoe-shi, Saitama, Japan
| | - Keisuke Takahata
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kenji Tagai
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
| | - Yasuharu Yamamoto
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hitoshi Shimada
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
- Center for Integrated Human Brain Science, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata-shi, Niigata, Japan
| | - Chie Seki
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
| | - Takashi Itahashi
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuta Y Aoki
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Haruhisa Ohta
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ryu-Ichiro Hashimoto
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Genichi Sugihara
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takayuki Obata
- Department of Molecular Imaging and Theranostics, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, Chiba-shi, Chiba, Japan
| | - Ming-Rong Zhang
- Department of Advanced Nuclear Medicine Sciences, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, Chiba-shi, Chiba, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Suhara
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
| | - Motoaki Nakamura
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Kanagawa Psychiatric Center, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Nobumasa Kato
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuhei Takado
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
| | - Hidehiko Takahashi
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Center for Brain Integration Research, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Makoto Higuchi
- Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute for Quantum Medical Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan
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