Gc Protein-Derived Macrophage Activating Factor (GcMAF) and Autism: Do Clinical Results Require a Novel Interpretation?

In this Editorial I reinterpret the results observed with the Gc protein-derived Macrophage Activating Factor (GcMAF) at the light of two recent papers published on this topic. According to the results and the hypothesis emerging from these papers, the biological and clinical effects thus far attributed to GcMAF are indeed to be ascribed to a glycosaminoglycan, chondroitin sulfate, that binds both the precursor and the active form of GcMAF. Such an interpretation has the advantage of solving all the contradictions and inconsistencies that have recently characterized the field of GcMAF-based immunotherapy. This novel interpretation is particularly apt at explaining the results observed in vitro and in vivo concerning the administration of GcMAF to autistic subjects.