No abstract

No abstract

The pathogenesis of schizophrenia is considered to be multi-factorial, with likely gene-environment interactions (GEI). Genetic and environmental risk factors are being identified with increasing frequency, yet their very number vastly increases the scope of possible GEI, making it difficult to identify them with certainty. Accumulating evidence suggests a dysregulated complement pathway among the pathogenic processes of schizophrenia. The complement pathway mediates innate and acquired immunity, and its activation drives the removal of damaged cells, autoantigens and environmentally-derived antigens. Abnormalities in complement functions occur in many infectious and auto-immune disorders that have been linked to schizophrenia. Many older reports indicate altered serum complement activity in schizophrenia, though the data are inconclusive. Compellingly, recent genome-wide association studies suggest repeat polymorphisms incorporating the complement 4A (C4A) and 4B (C4B) genes as risk factors for schizophrenia. The C4A/C4B genetic associations have re-ignited interest not only in inflammation-related models for schizophrenia pathogenesis, but also in neurodevelopmental theories, because rodent models indicate a role for complement proteins in synaptic pruning and neurodevelopment. Thus, the complement system could be used as one of the ‘staging posts’ for a variety of focused studies of schizophrenia pathogenesis. They include GEI studies of the C4A/C4B repeat polymorphisms in relation to inflammation-related or infectious processes, animal model studies and tests of hypotheses linked to auto-immune diseases that can co-segregate with schizophrenia. If they can be replicated, such studies would vastly improve our understanding of pathogenic processes in schizophrenia through GEI analyses and open new avenues for therapy.

No abstract

No abstract

Psychotic disorders are mental illnesses characterized by difficulties in reality testing 1 . Schizophrenia is a severe and chronic psychotic disorder with a life time prevalence of about 1%. Onset is typically in adolescence or early adulthood; characteristic symptoms include abnormally held beliefs (delusions), altered perceptions (hallucinations), disordered thinking, disorganized behavior (collectively positive symptoms) and deficits in motivation, affect, and socialization (negative symptoms). Diagnosis of schizophrenia, by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders (DSM), 5 th edition 2 requires the presence of at least 2 of these symptoms, along with a decline in functioning, lasting at least six months, and ensuring that these symptoms cannot be better explained by another medical disease, substance use or another psychiatric disorder. Impairments in cognition in recent years have emerged as central features underlying the disability in schizophrenia 3 .

Patients with schizophrenia and their relatives have reduced prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis. Schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis genome-wide association studies also indicate negative genetic correlations, suggesting that there may be shared pathogenesis at the DNA level or downstream. A portion of the inverse prevalence could be attributed to pleiotropy, i.e., variants of a single nucleotide polymorphism that could confer differential risk for these disorders. To study the basis for such an interrelationship, we initially compared lists of single nucleotide polymorphisms with significant genetic associations (p < 1e-8) for schizophrenia or rheumatoid arthritis, evaluating patterns of linkage disequilibrium and apparent pleiotropic risk profiles. Single nucleotide polymorphisms that conferred risk for both schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis were localized solely to the extended HLA region. Among single nucleotide polymorphisms that conferred differential risk for schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis, the majority were localized to HLA-B, TNXB, NOTCH4, HLA-C, HCP5, MICB, PSORS1C1, and C6orf10; published functional data indicate that HLA-B and HLA-C have the most plausible pathogenic roles in both disorders. Interactomes of these eight genes were constructed from protein–protein interaction information using publicly available databases and novel computational predictions. The genes harboring apparently pleiotropic single nucleotide polymorphisms are closely connected to rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia associated genes through common interacting partners. A separate and independent analysis of the interactomes of rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia genes showed a significant overlap between the two interactomes and that they share several common pathways, motivating functional studies suggesting a relationship in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia/rheumatoid arthritis.

A proportion of age related decline in EMOD is attributable to HSV-1 infection.