ArticlePloS one2018
Pioglitazone abolishes autistic-like behaviors via the IL-6 pathway.
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 17 papers.
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.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- Acute rapamycin treatment reveals distinct mechanisms of dysfunction in a maternal inflammation mouse model.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Neuroinflammatory mechanisms and pharmacological advances in autism spectrum disorder: from inflammatory pathways to targeted interventions.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Treadmill training protects valproic acid-induced autistic features via cerebellar AMPK/PPAR-γ dependent pathway and improves mitochondrial activity in mice.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Interleukin-6 produces behavioral deficits in pre-pubescent mice independent of neuroinflammation.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2025Article
- Intra-amniotic inflammation in the mid-trimester of pregnancy is a risk factor for neuropsychological disorders in childhood.Journal of perinatal medicine · 2023Article
- The Strategy of Targeting Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor (PPAR) in the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2023Article
- CTNNB1 in neurodevelopmental disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Review
- Canagliflozin alleviates valproic acid-induced autism in rat pups: Role of PTEN/PDK/PPAR-γ signaling pathways.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
- Modestly increasing systemic interleukin-6 perinatally disturbs secondary germinal zone neurogenesis and gliogenesis and produces sociability deficits.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2022Article
- Promising drug repurposing approach targeted for cytokine storm implicated in SARS-CoV-2 complications.Immunopharmacology and immunotoxicology · 2021Review
- Development of the Korean Form of the Premonitory Urge for Tics Scale: A Reliability and Validity Study.Soa--ch'ongsonyon chongsin uihak = Journal of child & adolescent psychiatry · 2020Article
- Alteration of Gut Microbiota in Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Overview.Soa--ch'ongsonyon chongsin uihak = Journal of child & adolescent psychiatry · 2020Review
- Developmental IL-6 Exposure Favors Production of PDGF-Responsive Multipotential Progenitors at the Expense of Neural Stem Cells and Other Progenitors.Stem cell reports · 2020Article
- Gender Related Changes in Gene Expression Induced by Valproic Acid in A Mouse Model of Autism and the Correction by S-adenosyl Methionine. Does It Explain the Gender Differences in Autistic Like Behavior?International journal of molecular sciences · 2019Article
- Pioglitazone abolishes cognition impairments as well as BDNF and neurotensin disturbances in a rat model of autism.Biology open · 2019Article
- Prevention or Amelioration of Autism-Like Symptoms in Animal Models: Will it Bring Us Closer to Treating Human ASD?International journal of molecular sciences · 2019Review
- A rational pharmacologic approach toward a biologically meaningful subtype of autism spectrum disorder.Jornal de pediatriaArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Autism is characterized by social deficits, communication abnormalities, and repetitive behaviors. The risk factors appear to include genetic and environmental conditions, such as prenatal infections and maternal dietary factors. Previous investigations by our group have demonstrated that prenatal exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which mimics infections by gram-negative bacteria, induces autistic-like behaviors. No effective treatment yet exists for autism. Therefore, we used our rat model to test a possible treatment for autism. We selected pioglitazone to block or ease the impairments induced by LPS because although this drug was designed as an anti-diabetic drug (it has an insulin effect), it also exerts anti-inflammatory effects. Juvenile offspring were treated daily with pioglitazone, and the main behaviors related to autism, namely, socialization (play behavior) and communication (50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations), were studied. Biomarkers linked to autism and/or pioglitazone were also studied to attempt to understand the mechanisms involved, namely, IL-6, TNF-alpha, MCP-1, insulin, and leptin. Prenatal LPS exposure induced social deficits and communicational abnormalities in juvenile rat offspring as well as elevated plasma IL-6 levels. Daily postnatal pioglitazone treatment blocked the impairments found in terms of the time spent on social interaction, the number of vocalizations (i.e., autistic-like behaviors) and the elevated plasma IL-6 levels. Thus, pioglitazone appears to be a relevant candidate for the treatment of autism. The present findings may contribute to a better understanding and treatment of autism and associated diseases.
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