ArticleOncotarget2017
Immunological cytokine profiling identifies TNF-α as a key molecule dysregulated in autistic children.
Article in Oncotarget, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
77 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 146 citations in OpenAlex.
- Atypical cytokine profiles in people on the autism spectrum: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis including 54 cytokines.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics for patients with autism spectrum disorder: a meta-analysis and umbrella review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- Bibliometric study of neuroinflammation in autism spectrum disorder.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- In search of immune cellular sources of abnormal cytokines in the blood in autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review of case-control studies.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Pooled it
- Association of Peripheral Blood Levels of Cytokines With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Randomized controlled trial of sulforaphane and metabolite discovery in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Molecular autism · 2021Trial
- Long-Term Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Population-Based Matched Cohort Study.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Article
- Ketamine attenuates anxiety-like behavior and oxidative imbalance in the maternal immune activation model: emphasis on the cerebellum.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Healing from the Ocean: Targeting Shared Mechanisms in Autism and Epilepsy Using Algae-Derived Compounds.Marine drugs · 2026Review
- Gut mucosal barrier: the frontline of bidirectional regulation of the gut-X axis.Medical review (2021) · 2026Review
- Circulating neuronal proteins are elevated in severe autism and associated with patient-specific neuronal dysfunction and behavioral deficits.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Oxytocin and RAGE signaling at the intersection of social neurodevelopment and inflammation.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Inflammatory cytokine alterations in autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Review
- Association between serum cytokine and neuron-specific enolase levels and the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2026Article
- Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Profiling of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Reveals Epigenetic Signatures in Autism Spectrum Disorder.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Article
- Nitric Oxide-S-Nitrosylation and Its Role in Neuroinflammation Associated with Neuropsychiatric Conditions.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Serum BAFF, APRIL, TWEAK, TNFSF18, TNFR2, and TNFRS12A levels in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder.International journal of developmental disabilities · 2026Article
- Neuroprotective efficacy of methanolic extract of propolis against early life stress-induced oxidative and inflammatory damage: Involvement of the Nrf2-Keap1 signaling pathway.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2025Article
- Beyond the gut: decoding the gut-immune-brain axis in health and disease.Cellular & molecular immunology · 2025Review
17 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
9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Recent studies have suggested that the etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be caused by immunological factors, particularly abnormalities in the innate immune system. However, it is still unclear which specific cytokines may be of most importance. The current study therefore investigated which cytokines showed altered concentrations in blood in ASD compared with healthy control children and which were also correlated with symptom severity. Our study sample included 32 children diagnosed with ASD and 28 age and sex-matched typically developing children. Autism symptoms were measured using the Autistic Behavior Checklist (ABC) and blood samples were taken from all subjects. We used Milliplex cytokine kits to determine serum concentrations of 11 Th1, Th2 and Th17 related cytokines. Additionally, expression of THRIL (TNFα and hnRNPL related immunoregulatory LincRNA), a long non-coding RNA involved in the regulation of tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF-α), was determined using real-time PCR. Of the 11 cytokines measured only concentrations of TNF-α (p=0.002), IL-1β (p=0.02) and IL-17a (p=0.049) were significantly increased in ASD children compared to typically developing controls, but only TNF-α concentrations were positively correlated with severity of ASD symptoms on all 5 different ABC sub-scales and were predictive of an ASD phenotype (area under the curve = 0.74). Furthermore, THRIL RNA expression was significantly decreased in ASD children. Our results provide further support for altered innate immunity being an important autism pathogenic factor, with autistic children showing increased blood TNF-α concentrations associated with symptom severity, and decreased expression of the THRIL gene involved in regulating TNF-α.
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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.