Biomarkers during the schizophrenia onset using quantitative analyses of serum metabolites at risk mental state
Poster C134, Saturday, October 22, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Le Baron
Naohisa Tsujino1, Takeshi Fukushima2, Naoyuki Katagiri1, Taiju Yamaguchi1, Hideaki Iizuka2, Mayu Onozato2, Hideaki Ichiba2, Takahiro Nemoto1, Masafumi Mizuno1; 1Toho University School of Medicine, 2Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University School
Individuals who meet the criteria for at-risk mental state (ARMS) have a high risk of developing psychosis. However, whether there are useful predictors of the onset of psychosis in individuals with ARMS remains unclear. Therefore, the establishment of reliable biomarkers for the development of psychosis in ARMS patients is urgently needed. Recently, alterations in endogenous metabolites, including amino acids related to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor hypofunction, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and anti-oxidants against oxidative stress, in sera from schizophrenia patients have been reported, and these metabolites may be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. We have selected 40 candidate metabolites, many of which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, and are performing quantitative analyses to examine their levels in sera from antipsychotic-naïve ARMS and first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients. We are also comparing these levels with those in healthy control subjects. The serum levels of these metabolites are determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods. Subsequently, the levels in the enrolled ARMS subjects are measured every 6 months, and the levels of the 40 examined metabolites are compared between subjects with ARMS who do and those who do not develop schizophrenia. The present study is expected to yield biomarkers capable of predicting the development of schizophrenia. Currently, 44 Japanese subjects have been enrolled in this study. Among them, 19 subjects (14 ARMS and 5 FES patients) are in the clinical groups. The analyses of the listed metabolites are ongoing.
Topic Area: Ultra High Risk / Prodromal Research