Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder. It is characterized by impaired social communication, abnormal social interactions, and repetitive behaviors and/or restricted interests. BTBR T + tf/J (BTBR) inbred mice are commonly used as a model for ASD. Resveratrol is used widely as a beneficial therapeutic in the treatment of an extensive array of pathologies, including neurodegenerative diseases. In the present study, the effect of resveratrol administration (20 and 40 mg/kg) was evaluated in both BTBR and C57BL/6 (B6) mice. Behavioral (selfgrooming), Foxp3, T-bet, GATA-3, ROR gamma t, and IL-17A in CD4(+) T cells were assessed. Our study showed that BTBR control mice exhibited a distinct immune profile from that of the B6 control mice. BTBR mice were characterized by lower levels of Foxp3(+) and higher levels of ROR gamma t(+), T-bet(+), and GATA-3(+) production in CD4(+) T cells when compared with B6 control. Resveratrol (20 and 40 mg/kg) treatment to B6 and BTBR mice showed substantial induction of Foxp3+ and reduction of T-bet(+), GATA-3(+), and IL-17A(+) expression in CD4+ cells when compared with the respective control groups. Moreover, resveratrol treatment resulted in upregulated expression of Foxp3 mRNA and decreased expression levels of T-bet, GATA-3, ROR gamma t, and IL-17A in the spleen and brain tissues. Western blot analysis confirmed that resveratrol treatment decreased the protein expression of T-bet, GATA-3, ROR gamma, and IL-17 and that it increased Foxp3 in B6 and BTBR mice. Our results suggest that autism is associated with dysregulation of transcription factor signaling that can be corrected by resveratrol treatment.