Altered proteins of the anterior cingulate cortex white matter proteome in schizophrenia

Alterations in the circuitry between and within different brain regions including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is implicated in the neuropathology of schizophrenia. The involvement of white matter in schizophrenia is becoming increasingly apparent with reports of structural, morphological and genetic alterations occurring in the disease. The 2-DE was employed to reveal significantly altered proteins within the ACC white matter proteome in a schizophrenia cohort (n = 10) relative to controls (n = 10). From the 423 matched spots between the two groups, the levels of 32 protein spots were altered in the schizophrenia ACC white matter. Of these, 30 spots were identified using MS. The majority of the altered proteins in schizophrenia function in metabolism, the cytoskeleton, and the synapse. These proteomic data suggest that the brain circuitry involving the ACC white matter tracts is altered in schizophrenia, possibly caused by depleted glucose metabolism and altered structural components of this region.