The traditional Kampo formula, Kami-shoyo-san (KSS), has potential in treating autism spectrum disorder-like behaviors by enhancing dopamine receptor-mediated mechanisms.
In this study, the researchers utilized male mice that were treated with a selective type I 5α-reductase inhibitor SKF105111 (SKF) to simulate an autism spectrum disorder animal model. Kami-shoyo-san (KSS), a traditional Kampo formula comprising 10 different crude drugs, was examined as a potential therapeutic strategy for ASD. KSS was observed to lessen sociability deficits and prevent the increment of grooming behaviors in SKF-treated mice without having any effects on the content of allopregnanolone, an enhancer of the GABAA receptor, in the prefrontal cortex.
During the process, the scientists also used the dopamine D1 receptor antagonist SCH23390, dopamine D2 receptor antagonist sulpiride, and GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline to assess the reactions of the mice and to understand the mechanism of KSS's effects better. D1 receptor antagonism reversed the effects of KSS, while D2 and GABAA receptor antagonism only mitigated the effect on self-grooming behaviors.
The results from the research study suggest that Kami-shoyo-san (KSS) can mitigate autism spectrum disorder-like behaviors. This was concluded from KSS's ability to lessen sociability deficits and excessive grooming behaviors in the mice treated with SKF. KSS showed these effects without changing the levels of allopregnanolone, a neurosteroid enhancing the GABAA receptor, in the prefrontal cortex, suggesting that KSS's mechanism may be majorly through dopamine receptor-mediated mechanisms. These findings suggest that KSS is a potentially effective candidate for treating autism spectrum disorder.
