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618217 
Journal Article 
Oxidative Stress in Autism: Elevated Cerebellar 3-nitrotyrosine Levels 
Sajdel-Sulkowska, EM; Lipinski, B; Windom, H; Audhya, T; McGinnis, W 
2008 
Yes 
American Journal of Biochemistry and Biotechnology
ISSN: 1553-3468 
4 
2 
73-84 
It has been suggested that oxidative stress and/or mercury compounds play an important role in the pathophysiology of autism. This study compared for the first time the cerebellar levels of the oxidative stress marker 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT), mercury (Hg) and the antioxidant selenium (Se) levels between control and autistic subjects. Tissue homogenates were prepared in the presence of protease inhibitors from the frozen cerebellar tissue of control (n=10; mean age, 15.5 years; mean PMI, 15.5 hours) and autistic (n=9; mean age 12.1 years; mean PMI, 19.3 hours) subjects. The concentration of cerebellar 3-NT, determined by ELISA, in controls ranged from 13.69 to 49.04 pmol g-1 of tissue; the concentration of 3-NT in autistic cases ranged from 3.91 to 333.03 pmol g-1 of tissue. Mean cerebellar 3-NT was elevated in autism by 68.9% and the increase was statistically significant (p=0.045). Cerebellar Hg, measured by atomic absorption spectrometry ranged from 0.9 to 35 pmol g-1 tissue in controls (n=10) and from 3.2 to 80.7 pmol g-1 tissue in autistic cases (n=9); the 68.2% increase in cerebellar Hg was not statistically significant. However, there was a positive correlation between cerebellar 3-NT and Hg levels (r=0.7961, p=0.0001). A small decrease in cerebellar Se levels in autism, measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy, was not statistically significant but was accompanied by a 42.9% reduction in the molar ratio of Se to Hg in the autistic cerebellum. While preliminary, the results of the present study add elevated oxidative stress markers in brain to the growing body of data reflecting greater oxidative stress in autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of American Journal of Biochemistry & Biotechnology is the property of Science Publications and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts) 
AUTISM; OXIDATIVE stress; PROTEIN nitrogen; MERCURY compounds; ANTIOXIDANTS; BIOCHEMICAL markers; PHYSIOLOGY, Pathological; RISK factors; NITRATION; autistic-pathology; mercury; nitrotyrosine; oxidative stress markers; Protein nitration; selenium