Autism severity is associated with child and maternal MAOA genotypes |
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| Authors: | IL Cohen X Liu MES Lewis A Chudley C Forster‐Gibson M Gonzalez EC Jenkins WT Brown JJA Holden |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychology, NYS Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, USA;2. Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University and Queen's‐Ongwanada Genomics and Genetics Core Facility, Ontario, Canada;3. Queen's Ongwanada Genomics and Genetics Core Facility;4. Department of Medical Genetics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada;5. Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada;6. Department of Family Medicine, Queen's University and Queen's‐Ongwanada Genomics and Genetics Core Facility, Ontario, Canada;7. Department of Human Genetics, NYS Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, USA;8. Department of Physiology, Queen's‐Ongwanada Genomics and Genetics Core Facility, Ontario, Canada |
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| Abstract: | Cohen IL, Liu X, Lewis MES, Chudley A, Forster‐Gibson C, Gonzalez M, Jenkins EC, Brown WT, Holden JJA. Autism severity is associated with child and maternal MAOA genotypes. We replicated and extended a previously reported association between autism severity and a functional polymorphism in the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) promoter region, MAOA‐uVNTR, in a sample of 119 males, aged 2–13 years, with autism spectrum disorder from simplex families. We demonstrated that (i) boys with the low activity 3‐repeat MAOA allele had more severe sensory behaviors, arousal regulation problems, and aggression, and worse social communication skills than males with the high activity allele; and (ii) problems with aggression, as well as with fears and rituals, were modified by the mothers' genotype. Boys with the 4‐repeat high activity allele who had homozygous 4‐repeat mothers showed increased severity of these behaviors relative to those born to heterozygous mothers. These findings indicate the importance of considering maternal genotype in examining associations of MAOA and other genes with behavior in male offspring. |
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| Keywords: | autism autism severity MAOA maternal effects uVNTR |
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