Gene variant linked to autism, GI problems

LOS ANGELES, March 3 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers have identified a specific gene variant that links increased genetic risk for autism with gastrointestinal conditions.

Researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angles and Vanderbilt University in Nashville said the findings suggest disrupted signaling of the MET gene may contribute to a syndrome that includes autism and co-occurring gastrointestinal dysfunction.

Principal investigator Pat Levitt, director of the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, said gastrointestinal disorders don't cause autism -- autism is a disorder of brain development.

"However, our study is the first to bring together genetic risk for autism and co-occurring GI disorders in a way that provides a biologically plausible explanation for why they are seen together so often," Levitt said in a statement.

In the brain, the MET gene is expressed in developing circuits that are involved in social behavior and communication. Disturbances in MET expression result in alterations in the way these critical circuits develop and mature, Levitt said. Research indicates MET also plays an important role in development and repair of the GI system.

The researchers analyzed medical history records from 214 families in the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange and found that a variant in the MET gene was associated with autism specifically in those families where an individual had co-occurring autism and a GI condition.

The findings are published in the journal Pediatrics.