It is possible that SERT interacts with NSF through other proteins.Indeed,it this is possible that GABAA receptors interact with NSF via GABAA receptor associated protein,and regulate its intracellular distribu tion and recycling.Detailed analyses of these SERT NSF complexes are needed.Serotonin transporter and N ethylmaleimide sensitive factor expressions in autism Recently,Nakamura and colleagues reported that the levels of SERT based on its radioligand binding were significantly lower throughout the brain in autistic indi viduals compared with controls.On the other hand,Azmitia and colleagues reported increased immunoreac tivity to a SERT antibody of serotonin axons in the post mortem cortex of autism patients.Our results show that,at least,SLC6A4 mRNA expression is normal in the raphe region of post mortem brains from subjects with autism.

Our findings and previous results lead us to two Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries suggestions.First,although the transcription of SLC6A4 is normal in subjects with autism,the level of SERT protein at the pre synaptic membrane is decreased Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries because of an impairment of the trafficking system.Second,SERT protein that is not delivered to the pre synaptic membrane accumulates in axon fibers in the brains of subjects with autism.In lymphocytes,we found that SLC6A4 expression was not changed in subjects with ASD.In contrast with our finding,Hu et al.previ ously reported that there was a significant decrease in the expression in the more severely affected twin for autistic twin pairs studied using lymphoblastoid cell lines.

This study used lymphoblastoid cell lines,not lymphocytes,from only three sets Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries of discordant twins,and SLC6A4 expression was not compared with normal Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries controls.These differences may be the cause of the discrepancies between the present study and that report.We found that the NSF expression levels tended to de crease in the raphe region of post mortem brains from subjects with autism,however,this trend was not statisti cally significant.Further studies with larger numbers of post mortem brains are needed to clarify NSF expression status in the brain of aut ism patients.In lymphocytes,we found,for the first time,that NSF expression was significantly lower in subjects with ASD and lower NSF expression correlated with the severity of impairments in social interaction.Our findings suggest that peripheral NSF mRNA levels may serve as a reliable Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries peripheral biological marker of ASD.

Sullivan et al.reported that the expression levels of a number of biologically kinase assay relevant genes are statistically similar between lymphocytes and CNS tissues including the brain,and suggested that the cautious and thoughtful use of lymphocytic gene expression may be a useful sur rogate for gene expression in the CNS when it has been determined that the gene is expressed in both.