Department of Psychiatry, University of Magdeburg, Leipziger Str.44, D-39120Magdeburg, Germany.
CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets. 2013 Nov;12(7):900-13. doi: 10.2174/18715273113129990091.
The aetiology of suicide is complex and still not completely understood. The present communication, which consists of two parts, aims to shed some light on the role of amino acidergic neurotransmission in suicide. In the first part we provide an overview of the literature showing that with the exception of certain gamma-aminobutyric acid transporters, virtually all components of the glutamate-glutamine- gamma-aminobutyric acid cycle are, in some way or other, abnormal in suicide victims, which indicates a prominent involvement of the glutamatergic and gammaaminobutyric acidergic neurotransmitter systems in suicidal behaviour. In the second part we present own immunohistochemical findings showing that densities of glutamine synthetase expressing glial cells in the mediodorsal thalamus as well as in the dorsolateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortex of schizophrenic suicide completers are significantly elevated compared with controls and non-suicide individuals with schizophrenia, thus calling into question the belief that cerebral glutamine synthetase deficit is indicative of suicidal behaviour.
自杀的病因复杂，目前仍不完全清楚。本通讯由两部分组成，旨在阐明氨基酸能神经传递在自杀中的作用。在第一部分，我们综述了文献，表明除了某些γ-氨基丁酸转运体外，谷氨酸-谷氨酰胺-γ-氨基丁酸循环的几乎所有成分在自杀者中都以某种方式异常，这表明谷氨酸能和γ-氨基丁酸能神经递质系统在自杀行为中起重要作用。在第二部分，我们介绍了自己的免疫组织化学发现，表明精神分裂症自杀者中中背侧丘脑以及背外侧前额叶和眶额皮质中表达谷氨酰胺合成酶的神经胶质细胞密度明显高于对照组和非自杀精神分裂症患者，因此对脑谷氨酰胺合成酶缺乏与自杀行为有关的观点提出质疑。
