Link between schizophrenia and vascular alterations in the brain uncovered in study

A recent study suggests that schizophrenia may be associated with alterations in the vascularization of certain brain regions. Researchers found a link between astrocytes (central nervous system cells) from patients with schizophrenia and formation of narrow blood vessels.

In the study, the researchers focused on the role of astrocytes in development of the disease. These glial cells are housekeepers of the central nervous system and important to its defense. They are the central elements of the neurovascular units that integrate neural circuitry with local blood flow and provide neurons with metabolic support.

The researchers compared astrocytes derived from schizophrenic patients’ skin cells with others from people without the disease. The researchers conducted two series of tests with astrocytes derived from patients and healthy controls. The first was a proteomic analysis in which all proteins present in each sample were identified in order to detect differences between the two sets of astrocytes. This part was conducted at UNICAMP’s Laboratory of Neuroproteomics.

After the proteomic analysis, the researchers performed functional trials to show that the inflammatory response in the astrocytes from patients with schizophrenia was altered and that the cells secreted substances that affected vascularization. These tests were part of the postdoctoral research of Pablo Trindade.

Reference:

Juliana Minardi Nascimento et al, Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived astrocytes from patients with schizophrenia exhibit an inflammatory phenotype that affects vascularization, Molecular Psychiatry