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CSF IL-1 and IL-2 in medicated schizophrenic patients and normal volunteers
M H Rapaport1, C G McAllister, D Pickar
1Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA.
Insights
Cytokine levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) did not differ between schizophrenic patients and healthy controls. However, Interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) and Interleukin-2 (IL-2) showed a significant positive correlation in all subjects.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimmunology
- Psychiatry
- Cytokine Research
Background:
- Cytokines play a role in modulating the central nervous system.
- Immune activation is being explored for its connection to psychosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of IL-1 alpha and IL-2 in medicated schizophrenic patients and normal volunteers.
- To explore the relationship between immune activation and psychosis through cytokine measurement.
Main Methods:
- Competitive enzyme immunoassay was used to measure CSF IL-1 alpha and IL-2.
- Study included 60 medicated schizophrenic patients and 21 healthy volunteers.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in mean CSF IL-1 alpha levels between patients (1.01 ng/ml) and controls (1.28 ng/ml).
- No significant difference in mean CSF IL-2 levels between patients (0.970 ng/ml) and controls (1.25 ng/ml).
- A significant positive correlation (r = 0.50, p = 0.0001) was found between CSF IL-1 alpha and IL-2 levels in all subjects.
Conclusions:
- CSF IL-1 alpha and IL-2 levels do not distinguish schizophrenic patients from healthy controls.
- A significant association exists between IL-1 alpha and IL-2 in the CSF of the studied population.
Abstract:
It is clear that cytokines exert a variety of modulatory actions on the central nervous system. As part of our work exploring the relationship between immune activation and psychosis, we measured cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) IL-1 alpha and IL-2 levels in 60 medicated schizophrenic patients and in 21 normal volunteers using a competitive enzyme immunoassay. The two groups did not differ significantly in their mean cytokine levels: 1.01 (0.149) ng/ml (patients) vs. 1.28 (0.150) ng/ml (controls) for IL-1 alpha and 0.970 (0.038) ng/ml (patients) vs. 1.25 (0.086) ng/ml (controls) for IL-2. There was a significant positive correlation between CSF IL-1 alpha and IL-2 levels for all subjects (r = 0.50, n = 44, p = 0.0001).
