Findings published in Molecular Psychiatry reveal that captopril restores the health of brain immune cells, reversing autism-like traits linked to maternal autoantibodies

Scientists at Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research have made a significant discovery in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): a widely used blood pressure medication, captopril, can restore healthy function to the brain’s immune cells and reverse ASD-like behaviors in a preclinical animal model. This invaluable research focuses on a specific type of ASD believed to be triggered by a mother’s immune system during pregnancy and could better understand autism and autism-like symptoms.

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Dr. Lior Brimberg led the study. (Credit: Feinstein Institutes).

Published this week in Molecular Psychiatry, these findings build on previous research that showed how a mother’s antibodies, if they target a specific brain protein during fetal development, can lead to ASD-related symptoms, especially in male offspring. In those studies, researchers found that the brain’s immune cells, called microglia, became overactive and unhealthy, disrupting crucial brain cell connections and affecting social behavior.

The study, led by Lior Brimberg, PhD, associate professor in the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes, and Ben Spielman, an MD/PhD candidate at the Donald & Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, found that when captopril – known for its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier – was given in this preclinical model of ASD, it significantly calmed the active microglia and increased social interaction.

“Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder is incredibly complex, but for some individuals, research has shown that the condition may stem from immune system activation during early fetal brain development,” said Dr. Brimberg, who is also corresponding author of the paper. “Our new work shows that a commonly used drug for blood pressure, captopril, can help quite down these brain immune cells, offering a promising new path for targeted treatment.”

The study shows that by using this drug, it helped rebuild vital brain connections and nerve cell growth, and importantly, led to increased social interaction. By analyzing the microglia’s inner workings, scientists found captopril boosted their energy and protein production, directly connecting this cellular rebalancing to improvements in brain structure and behavior.

“Dr. Brimberg and colleagues have uncovered important new evidence about the role of neuroinflammation in autism, showing how precisely targeting dysfunctional microglia with an existing drug can affect brain function,” said Kevin J. Tracey, MD, president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes and Karches Family Distinguished Chair in Medical Research. “This rigorous research advances our understanding of neural-immune interactions and opens new possibilities for treating specific forms of neurodevelopmental disorders through targeted molecular intervention.”

About the Feinstein Institutes

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the home of the research institutes of Northwell Health, the largest health care provider and private employer in New York State. Encompassing 50+ research labs, 3,000 clinical research studies and 5,000 researchers and staff, the Feinstein Institutes raises the standard of medical innovation through its six institutes of behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, molecular medicine, and translational research. We are the global scientific leader in bioelectronic medicine – an innovative field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. The Feinstein Institutes publishes two open-access, international peer-reviewed journals Molecular Medicine and Bioelectronic Medicine. Through the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine, we offer an accelerated PhD program. For more information about how we produce knowledge to cure disease, visit http://feinstein.northwell.edu and follow us on LinkedIn.

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