Reduced DTNBP1 (dysbindin-1) mRNA in the hippocampal formation of schizophrenia patients

Weickert, Cynthia Shannon; Rothmond, Debora A.; Hyde, Thomas M.; Kleinman, Joel E.; Straub, Richard E.

doi:10.1016/j.schres.2007.05.041

« Previous Next »Schizophrenia Research
Volume 98, Issue 1 , Pages 105-110, January 2008

Reduced DTNBP1 (dysbindin-1) mRNA in the hippocampal formation of schizophrenia patients

Cynthia Shannon Weickert
- MiNDS Unit of the Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, IRP, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Schizophrenia Research Institute, Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, University of New South Wales, Australia and IRP, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Corresponding author. UNSW Department of Psychiatry, Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Barker Street Randwick, NSW 2031 Australia. Tel.: +61 2 9399 1117; fax: +61 2 9399 1005.
Debora A. Rothmond
- MiNDS Unit of the Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, IRP, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Thomas M. Hyde
- Neuropathology Section of the Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, IRP, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Joel E. Kleinman
- Neuropathology Section of the Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, IRP, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Richard E. Straub
- Genes of Cognition and Psychosis Program, IRP, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA

Received 15 March 2007; received in revised form 13 May 2007; accepted 16 May 2007. published online 25 October 2007.

Abstract

Genetic and molecular studies indicate that dysbindin-1 plays a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. We examined dysbindin-1 mRNA in the hippocampal formation of patients with schizophrenia and found reduced expression in dentate granule and polymorph cells and in hippocampal field CA3, but not in CA1. Furthermore, there were positive correlations between dysbindin-1 mRNA and expression of synaptic markers known to be reduced in schizophrenia. Our results indicate that previously reported dysbindin-1 protein reductions may be due in part to decreased dysbindin-1 mRNA and that reduced dysbindin-1 may contribute to hippocampal formation synaptic pathology in schizophrenia.

Keywords: Schizophrenia, Postmortem, Hippocampus, Spinophilin, Synaptophysin, Candidate gene, Synapse, Synaptic pathology