ABSTRACT
ObjectiveBased on the new method of animal model evaluation， this paper summarized and analyzed the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） and Western medicine syndromes in existing autism spectrum disorder（ASD） animal models， and put forward suggestions for improvement. MethodRelevant literature on ASD animal models in China National Knowledge Infrastructure（CNKI） and PubMed were searched. According to the diagnostic standards of traditional Chinese and western medicine， core symptoms and accompanying symptoms were assigned values， and the clinical consistency of the models was comprehensively evaluated. ResultMost ASD model experimental animals were rodents， and the modeling methods included genetic and non-genetic. Domestic research focused on biochemical induction， while foreign research used genetic models more commonly. Among all models， valproic acid induction had the highest clinical consistency， followed by the neuroligin 4（NLGN4） and contactin associated protein like 2（CNTNAP2） gene knockout models. Most modeling methods could meet the characteristics of surface validity and structural validity， but did not clearly distinguish TCM syndromes. Currently， there is no model that has a high degree of clinical agreement between TCM and western medicine at the same time. ConclusionThe existing ASD animal models are mostly constructed under the guidance of western medicine， which lacks the characteristics of TCM syndromes. And the selection of evaluation indicators of western medicine is relatively single， without specifying the types of TCM syndromes. It is recommended to apply TCM intervention factors during the process of model preparation， to improve the evaluation indicators of traditional Chinese and western medicine， and to emphasize the study of on non-human primates， so as to lay a solid foundation for future experiments.
ABSTRACT
Aims: Implicated in autoimmune encephalitis, neuromyotonia and genetic forms of autism, here we report that contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CNTNAP2) contains a potential autoepitope within the extracellular region. Methodology: CNTNAP2 sequence-similar regions (CSSRs) from human pathogens were identified. Sera from autistic and control children were obtained and analyzed for the presence of antibodies able to bind CSSRs. One such candidate CSSR was evaluated for evidence of autoimmune responses to CNTNAP2 in a mouse model of acute infection. Results: Autistic and control children sera contained antibodies able to discrete regions of CNTNAP2. In a murine model of acute infection, a CSSR derived from the N-terminal extracellular region of CNTNAP2 resulted in anti-CNTNAP2 antibody production, proinflammatory cytokine elevation, cerebellar and cortical white matter T-cell infiltration as well as motor dysfunction. Conclusion: Taken together, these data suggest that CNTNAP2 contains a potential autoepitope within the extracellular region.