Study On Serum Levels, PBMC MRNA Expression Of IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 And Gene Polymorphism Of IL-1β, TNF-α And Regulation Of NF-κB In First-episode Schizophrenia

Objectives(1) To measure in parallel the serum levels and the Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell(PBMC) mRNA expression of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α both before and after exposure to risperidone during a 4-week treatment protocol for schizophrenia, and to determine the immune state of schizophrenia and whether the levels of these factors were correlated with clinical variables.(2) To examine whether the TNF-a gene -308G/A polymorphism, IL-1β gene -511G/A and +3953 G/A polymorphism confer susceptibility to schizophrenia, and to explore the affect of gene polymorphism on cytokine secretion by comparing cytokine levels in three genotypes.(3) To measure the nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB) activation and mRNA expression in the PBMC, and to analyze the interaction between NF-κB activation and cytokine level for exploration the role of NF-κB in the synthesis of cytokine in schizophrenia.Methods(1) The subjects were 83 patients who met the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia and 65 healthy control subjects. The patients had been diagnosed as having schizophrenia of positive subtype or negative subtype according to Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS) and having familial and sporadic schizophrenia. All patients were treated with single risperidone. The psychopathological status of each schizophrenia patient was assessed using the PANSS before and 4-week after the start of neuroleptic administration. For all subjects, serum IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-a levels were estimated using commercial...