Project description:The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is the association area in the anterior part of the frontal lobe and has a crucial role in cognitive functioning and negative symptoms in SZschizophrenia. However, limited information of altered protein networks is available in this region in schizophrenia. We performed a proteomic analysis using single-shot liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry of grey matter of postmortem DLPFC in chronic schizophrenia subjects (n=20) and healthy individuals (n=20) followed by bioinformatic analysis to identify altered protein networks in SZ.
Project description:Schizophrenia is associated with alterations in working memory that reflect dysfunction of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) circuitry. Working memory depends on the activity of excitatory pyramidal cells in DLPFC layer 3, and to a lesser extent in layer 5. Although many studies have profiled gene expression in DLPFC gray matter in schizophrenia, little is known about cell type-specific transcript expression in these two populations of pyramidal cells. We hypothesized that interrogating gene expression specifically in DLPFC layer 3 or 5 pyramidal cells would reveal new and/or more robust schizophrenia-associated differences that would provide new insights into the nature of pyramidal cell dysfunction in the illness.
Project description:Alterations of synaptic function in individuals with schizophrenia have been found in transcriptomics, proteomics, and genome wide association studies. Impaired synaptic glutamatergic (excitatory) and GABAergic (inhibitory) neurotransmission in affected brain regions (e.g. dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; DLPFC) is thought to be involved in the core symptoms of schizophrenia. However, there are no quantitative measurements of synaptic function in the human DLPFC, therefore concrete and specific functional alterations of voltage gated ion channels of glutamate and GABA receptors are lacking. We have begun to address this problem by directly measuring AMPA- and GABA receptor-mediated synaptic currents in postmortem brains from subjects with schizophrenia and contrasting to controls. We demonstrate in our preliminary work that the function of synaptic receptors is maintained in postmortem brains and is significantly decreased in schizophrenia compared to controls. Our overarching hypothesis is that reductions in both inhibitory and excitatory currents underlie synaptic deficits in schizophrenia. We will test rigor and reproducibility of this hypothesis in independent case-control cohorts. These deficits in synaptic currents can be statistically modeled with transcriptomic data which will be useful in downstream studies that pharmacologically challenge activation of these currents.
Project description:Gene expression of L3 and L5 pyramidal neurons in the DLPFC comparing schizophrenia from bipolar major depressive disorders and unaffected subjects.
Project description:Gene expression profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells with hTERT/E6/E7 transfected MSCs. hTERT may change gene expression in MSCs. Goal was to determine the gene expressions of immortalized MSCs.
Project description:We investigated the transcriptome of dentate gyrus (DG) granule cells in postmortem hippocampus from 79 subjects with mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression) or non-psychiatric controls.
