Research published in neuromarker showed that a nanosensor can measure nitric oxide (NO) from patient-derived stem cells to differentiate autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from intellectual disability (ID), even when both conditions share exactly the same genetic mutations.
Researchers from the Ohio University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry used a carbon fiber nanosensor originally developed for cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease research to measure real-time NO production in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). This method bypasses the blood-brain barrier, making blood-based biomarkers less reliable regarding brain status.
”Cells from ASD patients produce approximately 6 nM of NO, cells from ID patients produce 11 nM, and healthy control cells produce 65 nM, a clear and quantifiable difference.” co-author Howard D. Dewald shares.
This is important because ASD and ID often have overlapping symptoms and common genetic causes, making early differential diagnosis difficult. ”
Howard D. DeWald, Ohio University
”Despite the overlapping etiology and symptom similarities between autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, real-time bioelectrochemical analysis of newly produced nitric oxide may still serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of autism.” added co-author Abdullah Asif Khan.
The duo chose iPSCs because they reflect the earliest developmental stages, eliminating confounding factors such as age, nutrition, and drug treatment. ”Surprisingly, this method did not require cells to differentiate into neurons, and measurements were performed on undifferentiated iPSCs, simplifying the workflow.” points out Dewald.
Currently, the diagnosis of ASD relies on behavioral assessment, which often delays identification. ”This nanosensor-based approach could enable diagnosis in the first few months of life using somatic cells” says Khan.
Although this study is limited by sample availability, it opens new avenues for accurate diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Reference magazines:
Khan, A.A., Dewald, H.D. (2026). A nanosensor-based autism diagnosis method that uses nitric oxide collected from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells as a biomarker. neuromarker. DOI:10.1016/j.neumar.2026.100166. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950588726000145?via%3Dihub.
