<i>N</i>-Acetylaspartyl-Glutamate Metabolism in the Cingulated Cortices as a Biomarker of the Etiology in ASD: A ¹H-MRS Model

• Main Authors: Carmen Jiménez-Espinoza, Francisco Marcano Serrano, José Luis González-Mora
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-01-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: autism spectrum disorder; brain metabolism; <i>N</i>-Acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate; biomarkers; resonance magnetic spectroscopy; cingulated cortices
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/3/675

As brain functional resonance magnetic studies show an aberrant trajectory of neurodevelopment, it is reasonable to predict that the degree of neurochemical abnormalities indexed by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-MRS) might also change according to the developmental stages and brain regions in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Since specific <i>N</i>-Acetyl-aspartate (NAA) changes in children’s metabolism have been found in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) but not in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), we analyzed whether the metabolites of ASD youths change between the cingulate cortices using ¹H-MRS. <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">l</span>-glutamate (Glu) and <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">l</span>-Acetyl-aspartate (NAA) are products from the <i>N</i>-Acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate (NAAG) metabolism in a reaction that requires the participation of neurons, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes. This altered tri-cellular metabolism has been described in several neurological diseases, but not in ASD. Compared to the typical development (TD) group, the ASD group had an abnormal pattern of metabolites in the ACC, with a significant increase of glutamate (12.10 ± 3.92 mM; <i>p</i> = 0.02); additionally, <i>N</i>-Acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate significantly decreased (0.41 ± 0.27 mM; <i>p</i> = 0.02) within ASD metabolism abnormalities in the ACC, which may allow the development of new therapeutic possibilities.