Prevalence of antibodies against Borna disease virus proteins in Japanese children with autism spectrum disorder

Tomoyuki Honda; Kozue Sofuku; Hidenori Matsunaga; Masaya Tachibana; Ikuko Mohri; Masako Taniike; Keizo Tomonaga

doi:10.1111/1348-0421.12603

Prevalence of antibodies against Borna disease virus proteins in Japanese children with autism spectrum disorder

Microbiol Immunol. 2018 May 22. doi: 10.1111/1348-0421.12603. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Tomoyuki Honda^{1

2}, Kozue Sofuku², Hidenori Matsunaga³, Masaya Tachibana⁴, Ikuko Mohri⁴, Masako Taniike⁴, Keizo Tomonaga²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Virology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
² Laboratory of RNA Viruses, Department of Virus Research, Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Science (InFRONT), Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Osaka General Medical Center, Osaka, Osaka 558-8558, Japan.
⁴ Molecular Research Center for Children's Mental Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.

PMID: 29786872
DOI: 10.1111/1348-0421.12603

Abstract

Bornavirus infection is observed in both animals, including humans. However, bornavirus epidemiology in humans, especially in children, remains unclear. Here, we evaluated antibodies against bornaviruses in Japanese children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using immunofluorescence analysis, western blotting, and radio ligand assay. The prevalence of antibodies against bornavirus-specific speckles, N, and P proteins were 22%, 48%, and 33%, respectively, in the ASD children. According to our criteria, the prevalence of antibodies against bornaviruses was 7.4% in the ASD children. This is the first report of the serological prevalence of bornavirus in Japanese children. Our results provide valuable baseline-data regarding bornavirus epidemiology in children for future studies.

Keywords: Borna disease virus; antibody; autism; bornavirus; epidemiology.