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Review summarizes roles of astrocytes and microglia in synapse function in autism spectrum disorders, suggesting glial cell dysfunctions may contribute to pathophysiology.
The cellular mechanism(s) underlying autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are not fully understood although it has been shown that various genetic and environmental factors contribute to their etiology. As increasing evidence indicates that astrocytes and microglial cells play a major role in synapse maturation and function, and there is evidence of deficits in glial cell functions in ASDs, one current hypothesis is that glial dysfunctions directly contribute to their pathophysiology. The aim of this review is to summarize microglia and astrocyte functions in synapse development and their contributions to ASDs.
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Petrelli et al. (2016) studied this question.
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