The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology

Table of Contents - 2009 - Volume 12, Issue 06  

Brief Report

Persistently increased serum soluble interleukin-2 receptors in continuously ill patients with schizophrenia

Catherine Breseea1 and Mark H. Rapaporta1a2 c1

a1 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Cedars–Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

a2 Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Abstract

There is evidence suggesting that some patients with schizophrenia have increased circulating pro-inflammatory markers present in their serum. We hypothesize that serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2r) levels may serve as a biomarker for a subset of patients with schizophrenia. Serum sIL-2r levels were serially sampled from 59 medically stabilized subjects with schizophrenia and 57 control subjects. Serum sIL-2r levels were consistently elevated for subjects with schizophrenia when compared to controls. This finding was driven by a subgroup of patients (16/59) who had serum sIL-2r levels two standard deviations beyond the mean of the control sample. Elevated serum sIL-2r levels were associated with increased Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total scores, negative symptom and general psychopathology subscale scores. These results suggest that a subset of patients with schizophrenia have an elevation in a marker of immune activation that is stable over time and is associated with increased levels of psychopathology.

(Received December 04 2008)

(Reviewed February 10 2009)

(Revised February 24 2009)

(Accepted March 04 2009)

(Online publication April 15 2009)

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Correspondence:

c1 Address for correspondence: M. H. Rapaport, M.D., Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Cedars–Sinai Medical Center, 8730 Alden Drive, Thalians C301, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA. Tel.: 310-423-2600 Fax: 310-423-8397 Email: mark.rapaport@cshs.org

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