READ STUDY    . Toxic metal pollution and ASD. Environmental Research 2018

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Either by oral ingestion as salt or as an adjuvant, Al exposure may
induce the dysfunction or activation of glial cells that are important in
maintaining the homeostasis of the CNS and in neurodevelopment
(Morris et al., 2017). Furthermore, Al can induce the activation of
microglia to produce TNF-α, IL-6, iNOS, NOS-2, neuroinflammatory
PICs and ROS (Zaky et al., 2013). The microglia may govern the regulation
of neurogenesis and neurodevelopmental factors and interfere
with synaptic pruning and with the proliferation of neurons, which in
turn, may lead to the development of ASD (Kettenmann et al., 2013;
Edmonson et al., 2016; Hoeijmakers et al., 2016).