Systematic Review of the Measurement Properties of Tools Used to Measure Behaviour Problems in Young Children with Autism

Background

Behaviour problems are common in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are many different tools used to measure behavior problems but little is known about their validity for the population.

Objectives

To evaluate the measurement properties of behaviour problems tools used in evaluation of intervention or observational research studies with children with ASD up to the age of six years.

Methods

Behaviour measurement tools were identified as part of a larger, two stage, systematic review. First, sixteen major electronic databases, as well as grey literature and research registers were searched, and tools used listed and categorized. Second, using methodological filters, we searched for articles examining the measurement properties of the tools in use with young children with ASD in ERIC, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. The quality of these papers was then evaluated using the COSMIN checklist.

Results

We identified twelve tools which had been used to measure behaviour problems in young children with ASD, and fifteen studies which investigated the measurement properties of six of these tools. There was no evidence available for the remaining six tools. Two questionnaires were found to be the most robust in their measurement properties, the Child Behavior Checklist and the Home Situations Questionnaire—Pervasive Developmental Disorders version.

Conclusions

We found patchy evidence on reliability and validity, for only a few of the tools used to measure behaviour problems in young children with ASD. More systematic research is required on measurement properties of tools for use in this population, in particular to establish responsiveness to change which is essential in measurement of outcomes of intervention.

PROSPERO Registration Number

CRD42012002223     

GFP accumulation controlled by an auxin-responsive promoter as a non-destructive assay to monitor early auxin response

We have constructed transgenic Arabidopsis lines that contain a gene for green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of auxin-responsive domains A and B of the promoter from the pea PS-IAA4/5 gene. The chimeric transgene was named BA-mgfp5-ER. GFP was detected after the application of indole-3-acetic acid at concentrations as low as 100 nM in epidermal cells in the root elongation zone. The induction of the reporter gene was highly specific to auxin and was correlated with the auxin-induced change in epidermal cell shape. No GFP accumulation was observed in the lateral root meristem that was formed as a result of exogenous auxin application. These results suggest that auxin signals were transmitted through several distinct pathways depending on the cell type. The intensity of the GFP signal was strong enough to be observed through the plastic lid of the culture dish using a dissecting microscope, thereby enabling GFP expression to be monitored in an aseptic environment. Thus, the BA-mgfp5-ER transgenic plant can be a powerful tool for screening mutants that are defective in auxin signaling and the expression of early auxin-response genes.     

Transglutaminase 2 accelerates neuroinflammation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis through interaction with misfolded superoxide dismutase 1

Although the aberrant assembly of mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (mSOD1) is implicated in the pathogenesis of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the molecular basis of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) oligomerization remains undetermined. We investigated the roles of transglutaminase 2 (TG2), an endogenous cross‐linker in mSOD1‐linked ALS. TG2 interacted preferentially with mSOD1 and promoted its oligomerization in transfected cells. Purified TG2 directly oligomerized recombinant mutant SOD1 and the apo‐form of the wild‐type SOD1 proteins in a calcium‐dependent manner, indicating that misfolded SOD1 is a substrate of TG2. Moreover, the non‐cell‐autonomous effect of extracellular TG2 on the neuroinflammation was suggested, since the TG2‐mediated soluble SOD1 oligomers induced tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin‐1β, and nitric oxide in microglial BV2 cells. TG2 was up‐regulated in the spinal cord of pre‐symptomatic G93A SOD1 transgenic mice and in the hypoglossal nuclei of mice suffering nerve ligation. Furthermore, inhibition of spinal TG2 by cystamine significantly delayed the progression and reduced SOD1 oligomers and microglial activation. These results indicate a novel role of TG2 in SOD1 oligomer‐mediated neuroinflammation, as well as in the involvement in the intracellular aggregation of misfolded SOD1 in ALS.

     

Genetic characterization of mutants resistant to the antiauxin p-chlorophenoxyisobutyric acid reveals that AAR3, a gene encoding a DCN1-like protein, regulates responses to the synthetic auxin 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in Arabidopsis roots

To isolate novel auxin-responsive mutants in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), we screened mutants for root growth resistance to a putative antiauxin, p-chlorophenoxyisobutyric acid (PCIB), which inhibits auxin action by interfering the upstream auxin-signaling events. Eleven PCIB-resistant mutants were obtained. Genetic mapping indicates that the mutations are located in at least five independent loci, including two known auxin-related loci, TRANSPORT INHIBITOR RESPONSE1 and Arabidopsis CULLIN1. antiauxin-resistant mutants (aars) aar3-1, aar4, and aar5 were also resistant to 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid as shown by a root growth assay. Positional cloning of aar3-1 revealed that the AAR3 gene encodes a protein with a domain of unknown function (DUF298), which has not previously been implicated in auxin signaling. The protein has a putative nuclear localization signal and shares homology with the DEFECTIVE IN CULLIN NEDDYLATION-1 protein through the DUF298 domain. The results also indicate that PCIB can facilitate the identification of factors involved in auxin or auxin-related signaling.     

Comparing Symbiotic Efficiency between Swollen versus Nonswollen Rhizobial Bacteroids

Symbiotic rhizobia differentiate physiologically and morphologically into nitrogen-fixing bacteroids inside legume host nodules. The differentiation is apparently terminal in some legume species, such as peas (Pisum sativum) and peanuts (Arachis hypogaea), likely due to extreme cell swelling induced by the host. In other legume species, such as beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata), differentiation into bacteroids, which are similar in size and shape to free-living rhizobia, is reversible. Bacteroid modification by plants may affect the effectiveness of the symbiosis. Here, we compare symbiotic efficiency of rhizobia in two different hosts where the rhizobia differentiate into swollen nonreproductive bacteroids in one host and remain nonswollen and reproductive in the other. Two such dual-host strains were tested: Rhizobium leguminosarum A34 in peas and beans and Bradyrhizobium sp. 32H1 in peanuts and cowpeas. In both comparisons, swollen bacteroids conferred more net host benefit by two measures: return on nodule construction cost (plant growth per gram nodule growth) and nitrogen fixation efficiency (H₂ production by nitrogenase per CO₂ respired). Terminal bacteroid differentiation among legume species has evolved independently multiple times, perhaps due to the increased host fitness benefits observed in this study.Legume-rhizobia interactions vary widely across a diverse paraphyletic group of soil bacteria known for symbiotic nitrogen fixation inside root nodules of over 18,000 species of legumes throughout the world (Lewis et al., 2005). In several legume species, rhizobial cells are induced to swell during their differentiation into nitrogen-fixing bacteroids (Oono et al., 2010). These legume species belong to five different major papilionoid clades (inverted repeat-lacking clade, genistoids, dalbergioids, mirbelioids, and millettioids), a pattern suggestive of convergent evolution. Swelling apparently leads to terminal differentiation; swollen bacteroids no longer divide normally (Zhou et al., 1985). In other legume host species, bacteroid differentiation is less extreme, leading to nonswollen bacteroids. Nonswollen bacteroids are similar in shape and size to free-living rhizobia and divide normally once outside of their nodules. The proximate mechanisms for host-imposed bacteroid swelling have been investigated (Van de Velde et al., 2010), but what drove the repeated evolution of this trait? The multiple independent origins of host traits causing bacteroids to swell suggest that swollen bacteroids may provide more net benefit to legumes. Could the swelling of bacteroids improve nitrogen fixation efficiency (e.g. nitrogen fixed relative to carbon cost)? In this study, we compare symbiotic efficiencies of rhizobia in legume hosts that are evolutionarily diverged but share a common effective rhizobial strain, whose bacteroids are swollen in one host and nonswollen in the other.Variations among host species in benefits and costs of symbiosis with rhizobia are not commonly explored (Thrall et al., 2000) because legume species typically nodulate with only one group of rhizobia (e.g. Sinorhizobium sp. in Medicago), although some legumes and some rhizobia are more promiscuous. Rhizobium sp. NGR234 has the largest known host range but does not fix nitrogen effectively with any legume species currently recognized to induce swelling of rhizobial bacteroids (Pueppke and Broughton, 1999). Some Sinorhizobium fredii strains apparently fix nitrogen in certain cultivars of soybean (Glycine max; hosting nonswollen bacteroids) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa; hosting swollen bacteroids; Hashem et al., 1997), but our efforts to replicate these results did not lead to successful nodulation. Therefore, we studied two strains, a transgenic strain that nodulates beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and peas (Pisum sativum) and a second wild strain harvested from cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) that also nodulates peanuts (Arachis hypogaea). Beans and cowpeas are both within the Phaseolid group and do not induce terminal differentiation of rhizobial bacteroids. Peas and peanuts both host terminally differentiated bacteroids but are in distant clades and likely have different genetic origins for traits that induce terminal differentiation (Oono et al., 2010). Also, the swollen bacteroids in peas are branched while those in peanuts are spherical.Differences in symbiotic qualities between swollen and nonswollen bacteroids have been previously explored in peanuts and cowpeas by Sen and Weaver (1980, 1981, 1984), who also hypothesized that swollen bacteroids are more beneficial to the host plant than nonswollen ones. They found 1.5 to 3 times greater acetylene reduction by nitrogenase (as well as plant nitrogen) per nodule mass in peanuts than in cowpeas at multiple nodule ages (Sen and Weaver, 1980). Acetylene reduction per bacteroid was also greater in peanuts than in cowpeas when measuring whole nodules, but this difference disappeared when isolated bacteroids were assayed (Sen and Weaver, 1984). They concluded that swelling of peanut bacteroids per se was not responsible for the higher rate of nitrogen fixation per bacteroid. They suggested that in cowpea nodules, with greater numbers of smaller bacteroids per nodule volume, availability of oxygen to each bacteroid might be restricted such that the rate of oxidative phosphorylation, necessary for nitrogen fixation, is reduced. Fixation rates per bacteroid may be different between hosts due to nodule gas permeability or bacteroid crowding within nodules. However, fixation efficiency (nitrogen fixed per carbon respired) would not necessarily be affected by these and may be more important for the host than the rate of fixation.Rhizobial performances are often compared by measuring the symbiotic benefits, e.g. rates of acetylene reduction or plant growth (Sen and Weaver, 1984; Hashem et al., 1997; Lodwig et al., 2005), but rarely by measuring the symbiotic costs, e.g. carbon consumed or respired. Up to 25% of a legume’s net photosynthate may be required for nitrogen fixation by rhizobia (Minchin et al., 1981). Faster fixation rates (mol nitrogen per s) can be beneficial for hosts, but carbon costs can also be important. Rhizobia that fix more nitrogen per carbon respired could free more carbon for other functions, including the option of supporting more nodules with the same amount of photosynthate. If legumes are sometimes carbon limited, then improved carbon-use efficiency could enhance plant fitness. Measuring both benefits and costs is therefore key to an accurate understanding of the symbiotic performance of a rhizobial strain.While we recognize the many physiological differences between peas and beans or peanuts and cowpeas, the fact that terminal differentiation induced by host legumes evolved multiple times independently (Oono et al., 2010) suggests there may be some consistent host symbiotic benefit, such as improved fixation efficiency. Here, we measured the efficiency of each of two strains as swollen bacteroids in one host and nonswollen bacteroids in another. We measured nitrogenase activity as hydrogen (H₂) production in an N₂-free atmosphere (Layzell et al., 1984; Witty and Minchin, 1998), and compared it to carbon dioxide (CO₂) respiration to estimate return on nodule operation cost. We also compared host biomass growth per total nodule mass growth to estimate return on nodule construction cost. To further assess carbon allocation to the different types of bacteroids, we also measured the average amounts per bacteroid of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), an energy storage compound that can comprise up to 50% of bacteroid dry weight (Trainer and Charles, 2006). A greater PHB accumulation per bacteroid may require a decreased allocation of carbon for nitrogenase activity within the bacteroids, and hence, less plant growth per carbon invested in bacteroids. We demonstrate that peas and peanuts that host swollen bacteroids have higher fixation efficiency as well as greater plant return on nodule construction than beans and cowpeas, respectively, nodulated with the same rhizobial strains. PHB was not consistently correlated with plant:nodule growth efficiency with the tested strains. These findings show that swollen bacteroids can indeed provide greater benefits to their legume hosts.     

Negative inotropic effects of angiotensin II, endothelin-1 and phenylephrine in indo-1 loaded adult mouse ventricular myocytes

Angiotensin II (Ang II). endothelin-1 (ET-1) and phenylephrine are receptor agonists that share the signal transduction acting through acceleration of phosphoinositide hydrolysis in the heart. Because the regulation of myocardial contractility induced by these receptor agonists shows a wide range of species-dependent variation among experimental animals, we carried out experiments to elucidate the mechanism of contractile regulation induced by these agents in mice which are employed currently more as transgenic models. Effects of Ang II, ET-1 and phenylephrine on cell shortening and Ca2+ transients were investigated in single ventricular myocytes loaded with indo-1/AM. Ang II (10(-8), 10(-7) M), ET-1 (10(-10), 10(-9) M) and phenylephrine (10(-6), 10(-5) M in the presence of the beta-adrenoceptor antagonist timolol) decreased the cell shortening [Ang II: 58.4+/-9.03 (n = 8), 50.3+/-11.90% (n = 6); ET-1: 48.4+/-8.27, 31.2+/-6.45% (n = 5); phenylephrine: 45.7+/-11.60, 28.7+/-5.89% (n = 5)]. By contrast, the amplitude of Ca2+ transients was not significantly influenced by these agonists. The selective protein kinase C inhibitor chelerythrine at 10(-6) M significantly inhibited the decrease in cell shortening induced by these receptor agonists. These results indicate that Ang II, ET-1 and phenylephrine elicit a negative inotropic effect with insignificant alteration of Ca2+ transients, which may be mainly mediated by activation of protein kinase C in mouse ventricular cardiomyocytes.