Modulating Specific Pathways In Vitro to Understand the Synaptic Dysfunction of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is an incurable mental disorder that affects 1% of the world population and is among the most disabling human diseases. On average, 70% of patients abandon medication due to its low efficacy and the presence of severe side effects. To change these conditions, it is necessary to understand the pathophysiology of schizophrenia at the molecular level. Besides the long-established neurodevelopmental hypothesis, works based on neuroimaging, postmortem brain proteomics, and pharmacological, genetic, and animal model studies have shown dysfunction and deficits in synaptic transmission. Currently, genetic editing has been growing, and the use of this technique has been improved in the discovery of protein functions; in addition to that, some recent studies have attributed a path to the use of genetic engineering in the treatment of diseases with a genetic nature.