Fatemi S Hossein, Laurence Jessica A, Araghi-Niknam Mohsen, Stary Joel M, Schulz S Charles, Lee Susanne, Gottesman Irving I
Division of Neuroscience Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, MMC 392, Delaware Street 420, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Schizophr Res. 2004 Aug 1;69(2-3):317-23. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2003.08.014.
Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is a major protein of astrocyte intermediate filaments and a specific marker for astrocytes. Alterations in levels of GFAP may reflect pathological regulation of neuronal function and survival as well as abnormal synaptogenesis and neurotransmission. We employed quantitative gel electrophoresis and Western blotting to measure levels of GFAP in cerebella of 60 subjects divided equally among schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, and normal controls. GFAP levels were reduced by 32%, 17% and 14.5% in depressed, bipolar, and schizophrenic cerebella, respectively, versus controls. Only the depressed value was significantly different (p=0.015 Post-hoc Bonferroni test). Measurement of beta-actin levels showed no differences between the various groups. No significant effects of confounding variables were found. This is the first demonstration of GFAP reductions in cerebellum of subjects with mood disorders and schizophrenia, thereby adding to the reports of reductions in GFAP/glial cell counts in other brain regions of subjects with major depression, thus suggesting a downregulation of glial function in this disorder.
胶质纤维酸性蛋白（GFAP）是星形胶质细胞中间丝的主要蛋白质，也是星形胶质细胞的特异性标志物。GFAP水平的改变可能反映神经元功能和存活的病理调节以及异常的突触形成和神经传递。我们采用定量凝胶电泳和蛋白质印迹法来测量60名受试者小脑内GFAP的水平，这些受试者被平均分为精神分裂症组、双相情感障碍组、重度抑郁症组和正常对照组。与对照组相比，抑郁症组、双相情感障碍组和精神分裂症组小脑内的GFAP水平分别降低了32%、17%和14.5%。只有抑郁症组的值有显著差异（事后邦费罗尼检验，p = 0.015）。β-肌动蛋白水平的测量结果显示各组之间没有差异。未发现混杂变量有显著影响。这是首次证明情绪障碍和精神分裂症患者小脑内GFAP减少，从而补充了重度抑郁症患者其他脑区GFAP/胶质细胞计数减少的报道，表明该疾病中胶质细胞功能下调。
