An international collaborative of governmental and private organizations is committing more than 21 million US dollars for research to identify genes associated with autism spectrum disorders. The effort is headed by the National Institutes of Health (USA).

The coalition recently issued a Request for Applications, "Identifying Autism Susceptibility Genes," which has an application receipt date of April 15, 2005. Applications will undergo peer review during July 2005. The coalition will award funding for research projects in the fall of 2005 and expects to fund two to three organizations to participate in the 5-year project.

"The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) appreciates the challenge of leading this impressive team," said Thomas R. Insel, M., director of the NIMH. "This remarkable partnership shows what can be accomplished when public/private efforts join forces. This international approach can advance the autism field by leaps and bounds."

With 3 to 6 new cases per 1,000 children, autism is more common than several other disabling but better-understood diseases of childhood, such as type 1 diabetes and cystic fibrosis. Although heredity, in the form of multiple genes, appears to be a major determinant of whether a particular individual develops autism, experts believe that environmental influences also play a significant role.

Researchers have already reported progress on the genetics underlying autism. There are reports of several chromosomal regions associated with the disorder, but few specific genes have been identified.

The new program is intended to advance knowledge of the relation between genetics and autism by examining existing data for genes and gene variants that confer susceptibility to autism. The program also requires researchers to assess the functional significance of autism-associated genetic variants. This research may provide a means to subdivide autism spectrum disorders into identifiable, distinct disorders, with different molecular mechanisms.