The changes of expression of neuropeptide Y and oxytocin in the plasma of first-episode schizophrenia patients / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of plasma neuropeptide Y (NPY)and oxytocin (OXT) and the mRNA level of OXT gene in first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients and healthy controls (HC).Methods The plasma concentration of NPY and OXT in 55 FES patients and 33 HC were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the mRNA level of OXT gene were performed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).Results The NPY levels in FES patients ((1386.88±254.57) pg/ml) were significantly higher than that in HC ((1 140.62±266.63)pg/ml)(P＜0.01),and both the males and females in FES patients ((1 489.97±231.06)pg/ml and (1 279.97±236.30) pg/ml) were higher than their counterparts in HC ((1 305.40 ± 238.80) pg/ml and (965.55 ±165.45) pg/ml) (P＜0.05,P＜0.01).The OXT level in FES patients ((553.26± 180.49) pg/ml) was lower than that in HC ((696.27±280.77) pg/ml) with significant difference (P＜0.05),especially the females FES patients ((597.49±178.63)pg/ml vs (785.51±329.60)pg/ml);but the mRNA expression of OXT gene in FES patients (0.2075 (0.1653,0.3388)) were significantly higher than that in HC (0.1615 (0.1321,0.2200)) (P＜0.05),and there were no differences between the females of the two groups (P＞0.05).Conclusion The FES patients presented abnormal expression of NPY and OXT,and the concentration changes of plasma NPY and OXT will provide referential significance for the diagnosis of schizophrenia(SZ).