
Recent studies suggest that one of the major pathways to the pathogenesis of autism is reduced cell migration. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) has an important role in neural migration, dendritic morphological characteristics, axonal branching, and synapse formation. The FAK-Src complex, activated by upstream reelin and integrin β1, can initiate a cascade of phosphorylation events to trigger multiple intracellular pathways, including mitogen-activated protein kinase-extracellular signal-regulated kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt signaling. In this study, by using B lymphoblasts as a model, we tested whether integrin β1 and FAK-Src signaling are abnormally regulated in autism and whether abnormal FAK-Src signaling leads to defects in B-lymphoblast adhesion, migration, proliferation, and IgG production. To our knowledge, for the first time, we show that protein expression levels of both integrin β1 and FAK are significantly decreased in autistic lymphoblasts and that Src protein expression and the phosphorylation of an active site (Y416) are also significantly decreased. We also found that lymphoblasts from autistic subjects exhibit significantly decreased migration, increased adhesion properties, and an impaired capacity for IgG production. The overexpression of FAK in autistic lymphoblasts countered the adhesion and migration defects. In addition, we demonstrate that FAK mediates its effect through the activation of Src, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt, and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling cascades and that paxillin is also likely involved in the regulation of adhesion and migration in autistic lymphoblasts.
B-Lymphocytes, Integrin beta1, Blotting, Western, Proto-Oncogene Proteins pp60(c-src), Down-Regulation, Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases, Reelin Protein, Cell Movement, Focal Adhesion Kinase 1, Cell Adhesion, Humans, Autistic Disorder, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases, Paxillin, Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase, Phosphorylation, Child, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt, Cells, Cultured, Cell Proliferation
B-Lymphocytes, Integrin beta1, Blotting, Western, Proto-Oncogene Proteins pp60(c-src), Down-Regulation, Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases, Reelin Protein, Cell Movement, Focal Adhesion Kinase 1, Cell Adhesion, Humans, Autistic Disorder, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases, Paxillin, Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase, Phosphorylation, Child, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt, Cells, Cultured, Cell Proliferation
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 30 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% |
