ArticleEpigenetics
Reduced MeCP2 expression is frequent in autism frontal cortex and correlates with aberrant MECP2 promoter methylation.
Article in Epigenetics. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 181 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
181 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 343 citations in OpenAlex.
- Case-control meta-analysis of blood DNA methylation and autism spectrum disorder.Molecular autism · 2018Pooled it
- Folic acid intervention during pregnancy alters DNA methylation, affecting neural target genes through two distinct mechanisms.Clinical epigenetics · 2022Trial
- The Nodding syndrome cerebrospinal fluid proteome: a lens into neurodevelopmental failure consistent with environmentally triggeredFrontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Article
- The Convergence of Early-Life Stress and Autism Spectrum Disorder on the Epigenetics of Genes Key to the HPA Axis.Biology · 2025Review
- Transgenerational Effects and Heritability of Folate Receptor Alpha Autoantibodies in Autism Spectrum Disorder.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Dysregulated RNA-binding proteins and alternative splicing: Emerging roles in autism spectrum disorder.Molecules and cells · 2025Review
- Genome-wide DNA methylation profiles in the raphe nuclei of patients with autism spectrum disorder.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2025Article
- Exploring the complexity of MECP2 function in Rett syndrome.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2025Review
- Genetic advances in neurodevelopmental disorders.Medical review (2021) · 2025Review
- Epigenetics in evolution and adaptation to environmental challenges: pathways for disease prevention and treatment.Epigenomics · 2025Review
- Tetrahydrobiopterin and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review of a Promising Therapeutic Pathway.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- The clinical use of epigenetics in psychiatry: a narrative review of epigenetic mechanisms, key candidate genes, and precision psychiatry.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Pathogenesis-A Cross-Sectional Literature Review Emphasizing Molecular Aspects.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- DNA Methylation in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Biomarker or Pharmacological Target?Brain sciences · 2024Review
- Neuroimmune mechanisms in autism etiology - untangling a complex problem using human cellular models.Oxford open neuroscience · 2024Article
- Traversing the epigenetic landscape: DNA methylation from retina to brain in development and disease.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2024Review
- Genetic etiology of autism spectrum disorder in the African population: a scoping review.Frontiers in genetics · 2024Article
- Methyl-CpG-Binding Protein 2 Emerges as a Central Player in Multiple Sclerosis and Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2023Review
- Epigenomic signatures reveal mechanistic clues and predictive markers for autism spectrum disorder.Molecular psychiatry · 2023Review
- Review
121 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Mutations in MECP2, encoding methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2), cause most cases of Rett syndrome (RTT), an X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder. Both RTT and autism are "pervasive developmental disorders" and share a loss of social, cognitive and language skills and a gain in repetitive stereotyped behavior, following apparently normal perinatal development. Although MECP2 coding mutations are a rare cause of autism, MeCP2 expression defects were previously found in autism brain. To further study the role of MeCP2 in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), we determined the frequency of MeCP2 expression defects in brain samples from autism and other ASDs. We also tested the hypotheses that MECP2 promoter mutations or aberrant promoter methylation correlate with reduced expression in cases of idiopathic autism. MeCP2 immunofluorescence in autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders was quantified by laser scanning cytometry and compared with control postmortem cerebral cortex samples on a large tissue microarray. A significant reduction in MeCP2 expression compared to age-matched controls was found in 11/14 autism (79%), 9/9 RTT (100%), 4/4 Angelman syndrome (100%), 3/4 Prader-Willi syndrome (75%), 3/5 Down syndrome (60%), and 2/2 attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (100%) frontal cortex samples. One autism female was heterozygous for a rare MECP2 promoter variant that correlated with reduced MeCP2 expression. A more frequent occurrence was significantly increased MECP2 promoter methylation in autism male frontal cortex compared to controls. Furthermore, percent promoter methylation of MECP2 significantly correlated with reduced MeCP2 protein expression. These results suggest that both genetic and epigenetic defects lead to reduced MeCP2 expression and may be important in the complex etiology of autism.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.