ELEVATED PERIPHERAL EXPRESSION OF NEUREGULIN-1 (NRG1) MRNA ISOFORMS IN PATIENTS WITH TREATMENT-RESISTANT SCHIZOPHRENIA

Abstract

Background Differential expression of Neuregulin-1 (NRG1) mRNA isoforms and proteins has been reported in schizophrenia, primarily in post-mortem brain tissue. In this study, we examined 12 NRG1 SNPs, eight NRG1 mRNA isoforms (type I, type I(Ig2), type II, type III, type IV, EGFα, EGFβ, pan-NRG1) in whole blood, and NRG1-β1 protein in serum of clozapine-treated schizophrenia patients (N=71) and healthy controls (N=57). In addition, using cultured Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) from 15 healthy individuals, we examined the effect of clozapine on NRG1 mRNA isoform and protein expression. Methods RT-PCR was used to measure gene expression level of different NRG1 isoforms in the whole ..