Summary: A new study uncovers a link between astrocytes derived from patients with schizophrenia and the formation of narrower blood vessels in the brain. Findings suggest the astrocytes from those with schizophrenia promote less vascularization.
Source: FAPESP
A study conducted in Brazil and reported in an article published in Molecular Psychiatry suggests that schizophrenia may be associated with alterations in the vascularization of certain brain regions.
Researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), D’Or Research and Education Institute (IDOR) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) found a link between astrocytes (central nervous system cells) from patients with schizophrenia and formation of narrow blood vessels.
Schizophrenia is a severe multifactorial mental health disorder affecting around 1% of the world population. Common symptoms include loss of contact with reality (psychosis), hallucinations (hearing voices, for example), delusions or delirium, disorganized motor behavior, loss of motivation and cognitive impairment.
In the study, the researchers focused on the role of astrocytes in development of the disease. These glial cells are housekeepers of the central nervous system and important to its defense. They are the central elements of the neurovascular units that integrate neural circuitry with local blood flow and provide neurons with metabolic support.
The study points to novel therapeutic targets and advances scientists’ understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind schizophrenia.
“We show that astrocytes may be involved with an alteration in the thickness of blood vessels in the brain, which in turn may be associated with a reduction in the metabolic flux in certain brain regions, a key factor in schizophrenia.
“Our findings highlight the role of astrocytes as a central element in the disease and suggest they could therefore be a target for novel therapies,” Daniel Martins-de-Souza, penultimate author of the article and a professor at UNICAMP’s Institute of Biology, told Agência FAPESP.
The study was supported by FAPESP via a Thematic Project and a postdoctoral scholarship awarded to Juliana Minardi Nascimento, first author of the artilce, alongside Pablo Trindade, a researcher affiliated with UFRJ and IDOR.
Abnormal vascularization The researchers compared astrocytes derived from schizophrenic patients’ skin cells with others from people without the disease. This part of the study was conducted at the laboratory of Stevens Rehen, a researcher at IDOR and a professor at UFRJ’s Institute of Biology.
To this end, they reprogrammed epithelial cells from patients with schizophrenia and the control group to become induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). They then induced differentiation of the iPSCs into neural stem cells, which can give rise to both neurons and astrocytes.