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Dirican E, Özcan H, Uzunçakmak SK, Takım U. Evaluation Expression of the Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 Apoptotic Genes in Schizophrenia Patients. CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE : THE OFFICIAL SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN COLLEGE OF NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY 2023; 21:171-178. [PMID: 36700323 PMCID: PMC9889905 DOI: 10.9758/cpn.2023.21.1.171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Objective Apoptosis is programmed cell death that occurs by several pathways. Caspase-3 is induced by active caspase-9 via the intrinsic pathway. The aim of this research was to explore the expression of caspase-3 and caspase-9 in schizophrenia patients and healthy samples. Methods RNA was isolated from the peripheral blood of 39 schizophrenia patients' and healthy samples. After cDNA synthesis, real time PCR (RT-PCR) was used to analyse caspase-3 and caspase-9 gene expression. The severity of psychopathological symptoms of schizophrenia was evaluated using the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale for schizophrenia (PANSS) and Clinical Global Impressions (CGI). Results The expression of caspase-3 and caspase-9 genes was higher in schizophrenia patients than in healthy samples (p = 0.012, p = 0.002, respectively). The increase in caspase-3 gene expression was significant with being male, smoking and with a duration of less than 6 years (p = 0.047, p = 0.049, p = 0.034, respectively). On the other hand, the increase in caspase-9 gene expression was significant in patients who is smoke, have children, and are under 33 years old (p = 0.040, p = 0.043, p = 0.045, respectively). A significant positive correlation was detected between the caspase-3 and caspase-9 gene expression (r = 0.3218, p = 0.049). Conclusion Our findings indicate that caspase-3 and caspase-9 gene expression may activate cell death mechanisms by intrinsic apoptotic genes. Furthermore, caspase-3 and caspase-9 may play essential roles in different ways in schizophrenia. Hence there is a need to further study the apoptotic mechanism with expanded patient populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ebubekir Dirican
- Health Services Vocational School, Bayburt University, Bayburt, Turkey,Address for correspondence: Ebubekir Dirican Health Services Vocational School, Bayburt University, Dede Korkut Campus, Bayburt 69000, Turkey, E-mail: , ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9260-5223
| | - Halil Özcan
- Department of Mental Health and Related Disorders, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey
| | | | - Uğur Takım
- Department of Mental Health and Related Disorders, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey
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Decreased Activity of Erythrocyte Catalase and Glutathione Peroxidase in Patients with Schizophrenia. MEDICINA (KAUNAS, LITHUANIA) 2022; 58:medicina58101491. [PMID: 36295651 PMCID: PMC9609318 DOI: 10.3390/medicina58101491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) are important antioxidant enzymes that break down hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in order to control its intracellular concentration, thus enabling its physiological role and preventing toxic effects. A lack or disruption of their function leads to the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and the occurrence of oxidative stress. Accumulating studies have shown that the activities of key antioxidant enzymes are impaired in patients with schizophrenia. Since the published results are contradictory, and our previous studies found significantly higher erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in patients with schizophrenia, the aim of this study was to determine the activity of enzymes that degrade hydrogen peroxide in the same group of patients, as well as to examine their dependence on clinical symptoms, therapy, and parameters associated with this disease. Materials and Methods: Catalase and GPx activities were determined in the erythrocytes of 68 inpatients with schizophrenia and 59 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. The clinical assessment of patients was performed by using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). The catalase activity was measured by the kinetic spectrophotometric method, while the GPx activity was determined by the commercially available Ransel test. Results: Erythrocyte catalase and GPx activities were significantly lower (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively) in subjects with schizophrenia than they were in healthy individuals. Lower catalase activity does not depend on heredity, disease onset, the number of episodes, or disease duration, while GPx activity showed significant changes in patients who had more than one episode and in those who had been suffering from the disease for over a year. Significantly lower catalase activity was noted in the PANSS(+/−) group in comparison with the PANSS(+) and PANSS(−) groups. The lowest catalase activity was found in subjects who were simultaneously treated with first- and second-generation antipsychotics; this was significantly lower than it was in those who received only one class of antipsychotics. Conclusion: These results indicate the presence of oxidative stress in the first years of clinically manifested schizophrenia and its dependence on the number of psychotic episodes, illness duration, predominant symptomatology, and antipsychotic medication.
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Ershova ES, Shmarina GV, Martynov AV, Zakharova NV, Veiko RV, Umriukhin PE, Kostyuk GP, Kutsev SI, Veiko NN, Kostyuk SV. NADPH-oxidase 4 gene over-expression in peripheral blood lymphocytes of the schizophrenia patients. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0269130. [PMID: 35696356 PMCID: PMC9191697 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Increased systemic oxidative stress is common in schizophrenia (SZ) patients. NADPH-oxidase 4 (NOX4) is the cell oxidoreductase, catalyzing the hydrogen peroxide formation. Presumably, NOX4 is the main oxidative stress factor in a number of diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. We hypothesized that NOX4 may be involved in the oxidative stress development caused by the disease in the schizophrenic patients’ peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). Materials and methods The SZ group included 100 patients (68 men and 32 women aged 28 ± 11 years). The control group included 60 volunteers (35 men and 25 women aged 25 ± 12 years). Flow cytometry analysis (FCA) was used for DNA damage markers (8-oxodG, ɣH2AX), pro- and antiapoptotic proteins (BAX1 and BCL2) and the master-regulator of anti-oxidant response NRF2 detection in the lymphocytes of the untreated SZ patients (N = 100) and the healthy control (HC, N = 60). FCA and RT-qPCR were used for NOX4 and RNANOX4 detection in the lymphocytes. RT-qPCR was used for mtDNA quantitation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Cell-free DNA concentration was determined in blood plasma fluorimetrically. Results 8-oxodG, NOX4, and BCL2 levels in the PBL in the SZ group were higher than those in the HC group (p < 0.001). ɣH2AX protein level was increased in the subgroup with high 8-oxodG (p<0.02) levels and decreased in the subgroup with low 8-oxodG (p <0.0001) levels. A positive correlation was found between 8-oxodG, ɣH2AX and BAX1 levels in the SZ group (p <10−6). NOX4 level in lymphocytes did not depend on the DNA damage markers values and BAX1 and BCL2 proteins levels. In 15% of PBL of the HC group a small cellular subfraction was found (5–12% of the total lymphocyte pool) with high DNA damage level and elevated BAX1 protein level. The number of such cells was maximal in PBL samples with low NOX4 protein levels. Conclusion Significant NOX4 gene expression was found a in SZ patients’ lymphocytes, but the corresponding protein is probably not a cause of the DNA damage.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Natalia V. Zakharova
- N. A. Alexeev Clinical Psychiatric Hospital №1, Moscow Healthcare Department, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Pavel E. Umriukhin
- Research Centre for Medical Genetics, Moscow, Russia
- Normal Physiology Departement, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
- * E-mail:
| | - George P. Kostyuk
- N. A. Alexeev Clinical Psychiatric Hospital №1, Moscow Healthcare Department, Moscow, Russia
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Kowalski K, Bogudzińska B, Stańczykiewicz B, Piotrowski P, Bielawski T, Samochowiec J, Szczygieł K, Plichta P, Misiak B. The Deficit Schizophrenia Subtype Is Associated with Low Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet: Findings from a Case–Control Study. J Clin Med 2022; 11:jcm11030568. [PMID: 35160019 PMCID: PMC8836983 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11030568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Accumulating evidence indicates that individuals with schizophrenia show poor dietary habits that might account for increased susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases in this population. However, it remains unknown whether this observation can be generalized over the whole population of individuals with schizophrenia. Therefore, in this study we aimed to investigate dietary habits, in terms of adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) in subjects with the deficit subtype of schizophrenia (SCZ-D), those with non-deficit subtype (SCZ-ND), and healthy controls (HCs). We recruited 45 individuals with SCZ-ND, 40 individuals with SCZ-D, and 60 HCs. Dietary habits were assessed using the Food Frequency Questionnaire-6 with a 12-month recall. Adherence to MD was decreased only in subjects with SCZ-D compared with HCs. Lower adherence to MD was associated with significantly higher levels of clinician-rated and self-reported negative symptoms (including alogia, avolition, and anhedonia). No significant correlations of adherence to MD with depressive symptoms were found. Lower adherence to MD was related to significantly higher body mass index in subjects with schizophrenia, but not in HCs. Our results indicate that poor adherence to MD is associated with a diagnosis of SCZ-D, higher severity of negative symptoms, and greater risk of developing overweight or obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krzysztof Kowalski
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Consultation Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland; (K.K.); (B.B.); (B.S.); (P.P.)
| | - Bogna Bogudzińska
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Consultation Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland; (K.K.); (B.B.); (B.S.); (P.P.)
| | - Bartłomiej Stańczykiewicz
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Consultation Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland; (K.K.); (B.B.); (B.S.); (P.P.)
| | - Patryk Piotrowski
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Consultation Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland; (K.K.); (B.B.); (B.S.); (P.P.)
| | - Tomasz Bielawski
- Department and Clinic of Psychiatry, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland;
| | - Jerzy Samochowiec
- Department and Clinic of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-457 Szczecin, Poland; (J.S.); (K.S.); (P.P.)
| | - Krzysztof Szczygieł
- Department and Clinic of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-457 Szczecin, Poland; (J.S.); (K.S.); (P.P.)
| | - Piotr Plichta
- Department and Clinic of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-457 Szczecin, Poland; (J.S.); (K.S.); (P.P.)
| | - Błażej Misiak
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Consultation Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland; (K.K.); (B.B.); (B.S.); (P.P.)
- Correspondence:
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Morello G, Villari A, Spampinato AG, La Cognata V, Guarnaccia M, Gentile G, Ciotti MT, Calissano P, D’Agata V, Severini C, Cavallaro S. Transcriptional Profiles of Cell Fate Transitions Reveal Early Drivers of Neuronal Apoptosis and Survival. Cells 2021; 10:3238. [PMID: 34831459 PMCID: PMC8620386 DOI: 10.3390/cells10113238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuronal apoptosis and survival are regulated at the transcriptional level. To identify key genes and upstream regulators primarily responsible for these processes, we overlayed the temporal transcriptome of cerebellar granule neurons following induction of apoptosis and their rescue by three different neurotrophic factors. We identified a core set of 175 genes showing opposite expression trends at the intersection of apoptosis and survival. Their functional annotations and expression signatures significantly correlated to neurological, psychiatric and oncological disorders. Transcription regulatory network analysis revealed the action of nine upstream transcription factors, converging pro-apoptosis and pro-survival-inducing signals in a highly interconnected functionally and temporally ordered manner. Five of these transcription factors are potential drug targets. Transcriptome-based computational drug repurposing produced a list of drug candidates that may revert the apoptotic core set signature. Besides elucidating early drivers of neuronal apoptosis and survival, our systems biology-based perspective paves the way to innovative pharmacology focused on upstream targets and regulatory networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanna Morello
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council (IRIB-CNR), Via Paolo Gaifami, 18, 95125 Catania, Italy; (G.M.); (A.V.); (A.G.S.); (V.L.C.); (M.G.); (G.G.)
| | - Ambra Villari
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council (IRIB-CNR), Via Paolo Gaifami, 18, 95125 Catania, Italy; (G.M.); (A.V.); (A.G.S.); (V.L.C.); (M.G.); (G.G.)
| | - Antonio Gianmaria Spampinato
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council (IRIB-CNR), Via Paolo Gaifami, 18, 95125 Catania, Italy; (G.M.); (A.V.); (A.G.S.); (V.L.C.); (M.G.); (G.G.)
| | - Valentina La Cognata
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council (IRIB-CNR), Via Paolo Gaifami, 18, 95125 Catania, Italy; (G.M.); (A.V.); (A.G.S.); (V.L.C.); (M.G.); (G.G.)
| | - Maria Guarnaccia
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council (IRIB-CNR), Via Paolo Gaifami, 18, 95125 Catania, Italy; (G.M.); (A.V.); (A.G.S.); (V.L.C.); (M.G.); (G.G.)
| | - Giulia Gentile
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council (IRIB-CNR), Via Paolo Gaifami, 18, 95125 Catania, Italy; (G.M.); (A.V.); (A.G.S.); (V.L.C.); (M.G.); (G.G.)
| | - Maria Teresa Ciotti
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Research Council (IBBC-CNR), Via E. Ramarini, 32, Monterotondo Scalo, 00015 Rome, Italy; (M.T.C.); (C.S.)
| | - Pietro Calissano
- European Brain Research Institute (EBRI Foundation), Viale Regina Elena, 295, 00161 Rome, Italy;
| | - Velia D’Agata
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Human Anatomy and Histology, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia, 87, 95123 Catania, Italy;
| | - Cinzia Severini
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Research Council (IBBC-CNR), Via E. Ramarini, 32, Monterotondo Scalo, 00015 Rome, Italy; (M.T.C.); (C.S.)
| | - Sebastiano Cavallaro
- Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council (IRIB-CNR), Via Paolo Gaifami, 18, 95125 Catania, Italy; (G.M.); (A.V.); (A.G.S.); (V.L.C.); (M.G.); (G.G.)
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6
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Li R, Wang Q, Qiu Y, Meng Y, Wei L, Wang H, Mo R, Zou D, Liu C. A Potential Autophagy-Related Competing Endogenous RNA Network and Corresponding Diagnostic Efficacy in Schizophrenia. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:628361. [PMID: 33708146 PMCID: PMC7940829 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.628361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) and autophagy were related to neurological diseases. But the relationship among ceRNA, autophagy and Schizophrenia (SZ) was not clear. In this study, we obtained gene expression profile of SZ patients (GSE38484, GSE54578, and GSE16930) from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Then we screened the autophagy-related differentially expressed lncRNA, miRNA, and mRNA (DElncRNA, DEmiRNA, and DEmRNA) combined with Gene database from The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). In addition, we performed enrichment analysis. The result showed that biological processes (BPs) mainly were associated with cellular responses to oxygen concentration. The enriched pathways mainly included ErbB, AMPK, mTOR signaling pathway and cell cycle. Furthermore, we constructed autophagy-related ceRNA network based on the TargetScan database. Moreover, we explored the diagnostic efficiency of lncRNA, miRNA and mRNA in ceRNA, through gene set variation analysis (GSVA). The result showed that the diagnostic efficiency was robust, especially miRNA (AUC = 0.884). The miRNA included hsa-miR-423-5p, hsa-miR-4532, hsa-miR-593-3p, hsa-miR-618, hsa-miR-4723-3p, hsa-miR-4640-3p, hsa-miR-296-5p, and hsa-miR-3943. The result of this study may be helpful for deepening the pathophysiology of SZ. In addition, our finding may provide a guideline for the clinical diagnosis of SZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongjie Li
- Department of Neurology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.,Department of Internal Medicine, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Qiaoye Wang
- Department of Neurology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.,Department of Internal Medicine, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Yufen Qiu
- Maternal and Child Health Hospital and Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangxi, China
| | - Youshi Meng
- Department of Neurology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.,Department of Internal Medicine, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Lei Wei
- Department of Neurology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.,Department of Internal Medicine, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Hao Wang
- Department of Neurology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.,Department of Internal Medicine, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Ruikang Mo
- Department of Neurology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.,Department of Internal Medicine, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Donghua Zou
- Department of Neurology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.,Department of Internal Medicine, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Chunbin Liu
- Department of Internal Medicine, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
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Qi J, Chen LY, Shen XJ, Ju SQ. Analytical Value of Cell-Free DNA Based on Alu in Psychiatric Disorders. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:992. [PMID: 32038328 PMCID: PMC6985436 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychiatric disorders impose a huge burden on individuals, families, and society. The Alu repeat sequence is a member of the short interspersed nuclear element (SINE) family of mammalian genomes, however, its expression pattern and role in psychiatric disorders is unclear. The current paper aimed at determining the concentrations of Alu in patients with schizophrenia (SZ), major depressive disorder (MDD), and alcohol-induced psychotic disorder (AIPD), and to further define the role and value of Alu as a potential biomarker in psychiatric disorders. In this work, we found that the concentration of Alu was considerably incremented in patients with SZ, and a significant difference existed between patients diagnosed with SZ and MDD or AIPD. ROC analysis also indicated that Alu was effective in the complementary diagnosis of SZ, and differentially diagnosed between SZ patients and patients with MDD or AIPD. In addition, we found a positive relationship between the Alu concentrations and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in patients with SZ, MDD, and AIPD, and between the concentrations of Alu and interleukin-18 (IL-18) in patients with SZ. Overall, the present work indicates that Alu might be an innovative biomarker for diagnosing psychiatric disorders, and provides the basis for hypotheses about the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Qi
- Research Center of Clinical Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Ling-Yun Chen
- Center of Laboratory Medicine, Nantong Mental Health Center, Nantong, China
| | - Xian-Juan Shen
- Research Center of Clinical Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Shao-Qing Ju
- Center of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, China
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8
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Analysis of the concentrations and size distributions of cell-free DNA in schizophrenia using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Transl Psychiatry 2018; 8:104. [PMID: 29795286 PMCID: PMC5966419 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-018-0153-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Revised: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell-free DNA (cfDNA), which is primarily released following cell death, has been described and developed to serve as an effective biomarker in autoimmune diseases which may share the pathogenesis with schizophrenia. In this study, we hypothesized and explored whether the concentrations and size distributions of cfDNA are abnormal in schizophrenia. A total of 65 patients with schizophrenia (SZ), 29 patients with mood disorders (MD) and 62 matched healthy controls (HC) were included in the study. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy was used to assay the molar concentrations and size distributions of cfDNA. Fluorometric quantification and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) were performed to verify the results. The cfDNA levels were approximately two-fold higher in the SZ group ((29 ± 15) nM) than in the healthy controls ((15 ± 9) nM; P-value = 0.00062), but the levels in patients with MD were not significantly different from those in the healthy controls ((17 ± 10) nM; P-value = 0.343). According to the size distribution analysis, cfDNA in schizophrenia patients was composed of shorter DNA molecules and showed an apoptosis-like distribution pattern. Our study shows the elevated levels and short sizes of cfDNA in schizophrenia patients, which provide direct evidences supporting increased apoptotic activity in the disease. cfDNA may be developed to serve as an auxiliary diagnostic marker for the disease in the future.
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9
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Velásquez E, Nogueira FCS, Velásquez I, Schmitt A, Falkai P, Domont GB, Martins-de-Souza D. Synaptosomal Proteome of the Orbitofrontal Cortex from Schizophrenia Patients Using Quantitative Label-Free and iTRAQ-Based Shotgun Proteomics. J Proteome Res 2017; 16:4481-4494. [PMID: 28949146 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.7b00422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a chronic and incurable neuropsychiatric disorder that affects about one percent of the world population. The proteomic characterization of the synaptosome fraction of the orbitofrontal cortex is useful for providing valuable information about the molecular mechanisms of synaptic functions in these patients. Quantitative analyses of synaptic proteins were made with eight paranoid schizophrenia patients and a pool of eight healthy controls free of mental diseases. Label-free and iTRAQ labeling identified a total of 2018 protein groups. Statistical analyses revealed 12 and 55 significantly dysregulated proteins by iTRAQ and label-free, respectively. Quantitative proteome analyses showed an imbalance in the calcium signaling pathway and proteins such as reticulon-1 and cytochrome c, related to endoplasmic reticulum stress and programmed cell death. Also, it was found that there is a significant increase in limbic-system-associated membrane protein and α-calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, associated with the regulation of human behavior. Our data contribute to a better understanding about apoptosis as a possible pathophysiological mechanism of this disease as well as neural systems supporting social behavior in schizophrenia. This study also is a joint effort of the Chr 15 C-HPP team and the Human Brain Proteome Project of B/D-HPP. All MS proteomics data are deposited in the ProteomeXchange Repository under PXD006798.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Velásquez
- Proteomics Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro, 21941-909 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Fabio C S Nogueira
- Proteomics Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro, 21941-909 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Laboratory of Proteomics, LADETEC, Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro, 21941-598 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Andrea Schmitt
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) , 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Peter Falkai
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) , 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Gilberto B Domont
- Proteomics Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro, 21941-909 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Daniel Martins-de-Souza
- Laboratory of Neuroproteomics, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP) , Campinas, 13083-862 São Paulo, Brazil.,UNICAMP's Neurobiology Center , Campinas, 13083-888 São Paulo, Brazil.,Instituto Nacional de Biomarcadores em Neuropsiquiatria (INBION), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico , São Paulo, 01060-970 São Paulo, Brazil
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