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Olfactory Neurons Obtained through Nasal Biopsy Combined with Laser-Capture Microdissection: A Potential Approach to Study Treatment Response in Mental Disorders
08:33

Olfactory Neurons Obtained through Nasal Biopsy Combined with Laser-Capture Microdissection: A Potential Approach to Study Treatment Response in Mental Disorders

Published on: December 4, 2014

MicroRNA-382 expression is elevated in the olfactory neuroepithelium of schizophrenia patients

Eyal Mor1, Shin-Ichi Kano, Carlo Colantuoni

  • 1Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel. eyalmor@post.tau.ac.il

Neurobiology of Disease
|April 2, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Elevated microRNA-382 (miR-382) in olfactory cells and tissues from schizophrenia patients may serve as a biomarker. This finding highlights olfactory epithelium as a potential window into brain processes in schizophrenia.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Genetics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Schizophrenia is a neuropsychiatric disorder with a significant genetic basis.
  • MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in schizophrenia, showing altered expression in brain tissue and blood.
  • The olfactory epithelium (OE) offers accessible neural tissue for studying brain disorders like schizophrenia.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of brain-enriched microRNA-382 (miR-382) in schizophrenia.
  • To explore the potential of olfactory epithelium-derived samples as biomarkers for schizophrenia.
  • To identify genes regulated by miR-382 in schizophrenia.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of miR-382 expression in cultured olfactory cells and laser-capture microdissected olfactory epithelium (LCM-OE) from schizophrenia patients and controls.
  • Comparison of miR-382 expression in lymphoblastoid cell lines.
  • Validation of miR-382 targets (FGFR1 and SPRY4) in patient-derived samples.

Main Results:

  • miR-382 expression was significantly elevated in cultured olfactory cells and LCM-OE from schizophrenia patients.
  • miR-382 was not detected in lymphoblastoid cell lines.
  • FGFR1 and SPRY4, regulated by miR-382, were downregulated in schizophrenia patient-derived olfactory samples.

Conclusions:

  • Elevated miR-382 in olfactory epithelium may serve as a potential biomarker for schizophrenia.
  • The fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathway, involving FGFR1 and SPRY4, may be impaired in schizophrenia.
  • Olfactory epithelium-derived cells and tissues show promise as surrogate samples for studying brain disorders.

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