Abstract
Recently, the dopamine D3-receptor mRNA on blood lymphocytes and platelet mitochondrial complex I were suggested as biological markers of schizophrenia in adults. We investigated the mRNA level of the dopamine D3-receptor and complex I subunits in whole blood cells of early-onset schizophrenic patients compared to healthy controls using quantitative real-time PCR. We found an increased mRNA expression of the complex I 75-kDa subunit (referred to beta-actin in schizophrenic patients (0.57 ± 0.24 versus 0.23 ± 0.18 in controls, P < 0.01)), but were unable to analyse the dopamine D3-mRNA expression. This increase appears to be inherent to schizophrenia, because it was found in neuroleptic-naive patients and it was not affected by neuroleptic treatment. Our preliminary findings suggest the mitochondrial complex I as a potential peripheral marker of schizophrenia and its involvement in the pathophysiology of this illness.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a grant of “MMW e.V. ” (Munich, Germany) and Astra Zeneca GmbH (Wedel, Germany). The authors thank P. Scheuerpflug for statistical assistance, S. Keller for laboratory help and M. Gemeiner for his support (Institute of Chemical Medicine, Vienna, Austria).
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Mehler-Wex, C., Duvigneau, J.C., Hartl, R.T. et al. Increased mRNA levels of the mitochondrial complex I 75-kDa subunit. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 15, 504–507 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-006-0560-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-006-0560-5