Evaluation of Zn, Cu, and Se Levels in the North American Autism Spectrum Disorder Population

Abstract

Metal ion dyshomeostasis and disparate levels of biometals like zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and selenium (Se) have been implicated as a potential causative factor for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In this study, we have enrolled 129 children (aged 2–4 years) in North America, of which 64 children had a diagnosis of ASD and 65 were controls. Hair, nail, and blood samples were collected and quantitatively analyzed for Zn, Cu and Se using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Of the analyzed biometals, serum Se (116.83 ± 14.84 mcg/mL) was found to be significantly lower in male ASD cases compared to male healthy controls (128.21 ± 9.11 mcg/mL; p < 0.005). A similar trend was found for nail Se levels in ASD (1.01 ± 0.15 mcg/mL) versus that of controls (1.11 ± 0.17 mcg/mL) with a p-value of 0.0132 using a stratified Wilcoxon rank sum testing. The level of Se in ASD cohort was co-analyzed for psychometric correlation and found a negative correlation between total ADOS score and serum Se levels. However, we did not observe any significant difference in Zn, Cu, and Zn/Cu ratio in ASD cases versus controls in this cohort of North American children. Further studies are recommended to better understand the biology of the relationship between Se and ASD status.

Isotopic composition of serum zinc and copper in healthy children and children with autism spectrum disorder in North America

“…For example, in a study of 1,967 children with ASD, nearly 30% of children with ASD had low concentrations of zinc present in hair samples ( Yasuda et al, 2011 ). However, a study previously conducted by our group that involved 64 children with ASD and 65 non-ASD controls, did not find any significant difference between serum or hair zinc levels in children with ASD compared to age-matched and sex-matched controls ( Mehta et al, 2021 ). Furthermore, one study, including 27 children with ASD and 27 non-ASD control, found higher levels of zinc in the hair of ASD patients when compared to controls ( Al-Farsi et al, 2013 ).…”

“…A study by Li et al, that included 60 patients with ASD and 60 age and sex-matched controls, also showed that children with ASD had elevated copper serum levels when compared to healthy sex matched and age matched controls ( Li et al, 2014 ). However, a study by our group, that included 64 children with ASD and 65 non-ASD controls, did not find significant differences in copper concentrations in serum or hair of North American children with ASD when compared to healthy controls ( Mehta et al, 2021 ).…”

Novel insights into the immune cell landscape and gene signatures in autism spectrum disorder by bioinformatics and clinical analysis

“…SELENBP1, as its name suggests, combines with selenium and participates in various intracellular selenium transport mechanisms ( 51 ). Hence, deficiency of SELENBP1 causes deficiency of selenium, leading to certain neurologic diseases such as recent-onset schizophrenia ( 52 ) and autism ( 53 , 54 ). Consistent with other studies, we also observed that SELENBP1 was lower in ASD children than in TD children, which indicates that low selenium levels is a risk indicator for autism.…”

Identification and determination of the relationship between elemental compounds of hair and fingernail by PIXE technique in Hamadan urban community, Iran

“…The elemental concentration of hair and nail can be determined by various techniques of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) [26], laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) [27], atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) [28], gas/liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC/LC MS) [29], X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) [30], neutron activation analysis (NAA) [31], and ion beam analysis (IBA) [32] like secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) [33] and particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) [34]. To determine the level of concentration of the major, minor and trace elements in calcium-rich hairs/fingernails the PIXE was used to assess the important elements occurring within the hair/nail matrix structures.…”