Upregulation of NRG-1 and VAMP-1 in human brain aggregates exposed to clozapine

Abstract

Growing genetic evidence has implicated a role for neuregulin-1 (NRG-1) in schizophrenia pathogenesis as well as alterations in SNAP receptor (SNARE) proteins at both gene and protein levels in post-mortem investigations. In relation to a potential therapeutic mechanism for atypical antipsychotic medications, clozapine has been shown to increase both NRG-1 levels and synaptic markers in rodents. As evidence continues to mount for a potential restoration in connectivity by antipsychotic medications being a mode of efficacy we chose to examine the effects of the atypical antipsychotic clozapine and the typical antipsychotic haloperidol on NRG-1 and SNARE protein transcripts in human brain aggr..