Developmental vitamin D deficiency and autism: Putative pathogenic mechanisms

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disease that presents in early life. Despite a considerable amount of studies, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying autism remain obscure. Both genetic and environmental factors are involved in the development of autism. Vitamin D deficiency is emerging as a consistently reported risk factor in children. One reason for the prominence now being given to this risk factor is that it would appear to interact with several other epidemiological risk factors for autism. Vitamin D is an active neurosteroid and plays crucial neuroprotective roles in the developing brain. It has important roles in cell proliferation and differentiation, immunomodulation, regulation of neurotransmission and steroidogenesis. Animal studies have suggested that transient prenatal vitamin D deficiency is associated with altered brain development. Here we review the potential neurobiological mechanisms linking prenatal vitamin D deficiency and autism and also discuss what future research targets must now be addressed.