ArticlePloS one2018
Pathophysiological and neurobehavioral characteristics of a propionic acid-mediated autism-like rat model.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
68 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 132 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Composition of Gut Microbiota in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- Altered Gut Microbiota and Short-chain Fatty Acids in Chinese Children with Constipated Autism Spectrum Disorder.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Article
- The Gut Microbiome in Early Ontogeny: Implications for Brain and Immune System Development.Journal of developmental biology · 2026Review
- Gut microbial diversity and inferred capacity to produce short-chain fatty acids are associated with acute stress reactivity in healthy adults.Neurobiology of stress · 2026Article
- Gut-Derived Metabolic Imbalance in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Toward the Concept of a Metabolic Subtype.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Microbiome-Derived Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Tryptophan Metabolites in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Stool-Urine Multi-Omics Analysis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Voluntary wheel running exercise attenuates VPA-induced ASD-like behaviors in male rats: implication of the vagal pathway of the gut-brain axis.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Article
- Gut-Brain Inflammation and Disrupted Homeostasis Due to Activation of Mast Cells and Microglia.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children: Results from a Prospective Open-Label Controlled Observational Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Observational
- Microbial metabolites as engines of behavioral variation across animals.Gut microbes · 2025Review
- Therapeutic effect of bismuth subsalicylate in a propionic acid-induced autism model.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Article
- A Maternal and Postnatal Ad Libitum Propionic Acid-Rich Diet in Mice Alters Intestinal Glia Proliferation and Inflammatory Response: Contrary to Effect in the Brain.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Review
- Unravelling the Gut-Microbiome-Brain Axis: Implications for Infant Neurodevelopment and Future Therapeutics.Current microbiology · 2025Review
- Elucidating the specific mechanisms of the gut-brain axis: the short-chain fatty acids-microglia pathway.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Review
- Sodium propionate protects against bronchopulmonary dysplasia by inhibiting IL-17-mediated apoptosis of alveolar epithelial cells.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Legalome: Microbiology, Omics and Criminal Justice.Microbial biotechnology · 2025Article
8 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 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is induced by complex hereditary and environmental factors. However, the mechanisms of ASD development are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to identify standard indicators of this condition by comparing clinical, pathophysiological, and neurobehavioral features in an autism-like animal model. A total of 22 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control and 500 mg/kg propionic acid (PPA)-treated groups. Rats were subjected to behavioral tests, gene expression analyses, and histological analyses to detect pathophysiological and neurobehavioral alterations. Exploratory activity and non-aggressive behavior were significantly reduced in PPA-treated rats, whereas enhanced aggressive behavior during adjacent interactions was observed on day 14 after PPA administration. To evaluate gene expression after PPA administration, we analyzed hippocampal tissue using reverse transcription PCR. Glial fibrillary acidic protein was augmented in the PPA-treated group on day 14 after appearance of ASD-like behaviors by PPA administration, whereas octamer-binding transcription factor 4 expression was significantly decreased in the PPA-treated group. Histological evaluation revealed significantly reduced diameter and layer thickness of granule cells in PPA-treated rats compared with control rats. We conclude that PPA administration induced abnormal neural cell organization, which may have led to autism-like neurobehaviors, including increased aggressive behavior, reduced exploratory activity, and isolative and passive behaviors.
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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.