Ikemoto Keiko, Oda Tatsuro, Nishimura Akiyoshi, Nishi Katsuji
Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan.
Case Rep Neurol Med. 2011;2011:381059. doi: 10.1155/2011/381059. Epub 2011 Sep 22.
The mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system has been associated with the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Here, we examined DA-containing neuronal structures of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of an autopsy case of disorganized type of schizophrenia (75-year-old female), using tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry. A free floating method using 50-μm cryostat sections and three-dimensional imaging analyzer AxioVision were applied to observe the wide range structures of TH-immunoreactive (-ir) neurons. TH-ir neuronal cell bodies in the VTA of the present case had irregular shape and various size, and TH-ir neuronal processes had irregular thickness and straightened shape or curved shape having many corners, when compared to a control autopsy case with no detectable neurological and psychiatric diseases (64-year-old male). The mechanisms underlying the morphological characteristics of DA neurons of the brains with schizophrenia should be elucidated epigenetically as well as genetically.
中脑边缘多巴胺（DA）系统与精神分裂症的发病机制有关。在此，我们使用酪氨酸羟化酶（TH）免疫组织化学方法，对一例紊乱型精神分裂症尸检病例（75岁女性）腹侧被盖区（VTA）中含DA的神经元结构进行了研究。采用使用50μm冰冻切片的游离漂浮法和三维成像分析仪AxioVision，观察TH免疫反应性（-ir）神经元的广泛结构。与一例无明显神经和精神疾病的对照尸检病例（64岁男性）相比，本病例VTA中TH-ir神经元细胞体形状不规则、大小各异，TH-ir神经突起粗细不规则，呈笔直状或有许多拐角的弯曲状。精神分裂症患者大脑中DA神经元形态特征的潜在机制应从表观遗传学和遗传学方面进行阐明。
