Uskudar University, Neuropsychopharmacology Application and Research Center, Istanbul, Turkey.
J Psychiatr Res. 2013 Aug;47(8):1054-60. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.04.004. Epub 2013 May 7.
Agmatine is an endogenous substance, synthesized from l-arginine, and it is proposed to be a new neurotransmitter. Preclinical studies indicated that agmatine may have an important role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. This study was organized to investigate plasma agmatine in patients with schizophrenia and in healthy controls. Eighteen patients with schizophrenia and 19 healthy individuals constituted the subjects. Agmatine levels in the plasma were measured using the HPLC method. The S100B protein level, which is a peripheral biomarker for brain damage, was also measured using the ELISA method. While plasma levels of agmatine in patients with schizophrenia were significantly increased (p < 0.0001) compared to those of healthy individuals (control), there were no significant changes in the levels of S100B protein (p = 0.660). An ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve analysis revealed that measuring plasma agmatine levels as a clinical diagnostic test would significantly differentiate between patients with schizophrenia and those in the control group (predictive value: 0.969; p < 0.0001). The predictive value of S100B measurements was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). A multiple regression analysis revealed that the age of the patient and the severity of the illness, as indicated by the PANSS score, significantly contributed the plasma agmatine levels in patients with schizophrenia. These results support the hypothesis that an excess agmatine release is important in the development of schizophrenia. The findings also imply that the plasma agmatine level may be a potential biomarker of schizophrenia.
胍丁胺是一种内源性物质，由 l-精氨酸合成，它被提议成为一种新的神经递质。临床前研究表明，胍丁胺可能在精神分裂症的病理生理学中起重要作用。本研究旨在调查精神分裂症患者和健康对照者的血浆胍丁胺。18 名精神分裂症患者和 19 名健康个体构成了研究对象。使用 HPLC 方法测量血浆中胍丁胺的水平。还使用 ELISA 方法测量了 S100B 蛋白水平，这是一种脑损伤的外周生物标志物。与健康个体（对照组）相比，精神分裂症患者的血浆胍丁胺水平显著升高（p<0.0001），而 S100B 蛋白水平没有显著变化（p=0.660）。ROC（受试者工作特征）曲线分析表明，测量血浆胍丁胺水平作为临床诊断测试可以显著区分精神分裂症患者和对照组患者（预测值：0.969；p<0.0001）。S100B 测量的预测值在统计学上没有显著意义（p>0.05）。多元回归分析表明，患者的年龄和 PANSS 评分所表示的疾病严重程度，显著影响精神分裂症患者的血浆胍丁胺水平。这些结果支持胍丁胺释放过多在精神分裂症发展中很重要的假设。研究结果还表明，血浆胍丁胺水平可能是精神分裂症的潜在生物标志物。
