Involvement of Intestinal Goblet Cells and Changes in Sodium Glucose Transporters Expression: Possible Therapeutic Targets in Autistic BTBR T(+)Itpr3(tf)/J Mice

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental syndrome with a complicated etiology and could be responsible for disrupted gastrointestinal tract microbiota. The aim of this work was to study intestinal samples from an autistic animal model (BTBR mouse strain) to better describe gastrointestinal alterations. We performed a morphological and biological evaluation of small intestine samples. In terms of morphology, we studied the goblet cells, cells of intestinal mucosal responsible for the production and maintenance of the protective mucous blanket. Alterations in their secretion may indicate an altered rate of mucus synthesis and this is one of the possible causes of gastrointestinal problems. In terms of biological evaluation, impaired regulation of glucose homeostasis regulated by sodium-glucose transporters has been suggested as an important component of obesity and associated comorbidities; therefore, this study analyzed the expression of sodium/glucose transporter-1 and -3 in BTBR mice to better define their role. We demonstrated that, in BTBR mice as compared to C57BL/6J (B6) strain animals: (1) The goblet cells had different protein content in their vesicles and apparently a larger number of Golgi cisternae; (2) the expression and level of sodium/glucose transporters were higher. These findings could suggest new possible targets in autism spectrum disorder to maintain mucus barrier function.