Thousands of microvilli form a structure called the brush border that is found on the apical surface of some epithelial cells, such as the small intestines. (Microvilli should not be confused with intestinal villi, which are made of many cells.
Autism spectrum disorder has no single known cause. Given the complexity of the disorder, and the fact that symptoms and severity vary, there are probably many causes. Both genetics and environment may play a role. 1  Genetic problems. 2  Several different genes appear to be involved in autism spectrum disorder.
De novo mutations are likely to be the most severe class and thus most likely to cause disease with high penetrance themselves. But many inherited mutations may cause autism only in combination with one or a few other mutations.