Suprunowicz Maria, Zwierz Mateusz, Konarzewska Beata, Waszkiewicz Napoleon
Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Bialystok, pl. Wołodyjowskiego 2, 15-272 Białystok, Poland.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Jul 10;26(14):6619. doi: 10.3390/ijms26146619.
Autistic traits-such as social communication deficits, cognitive rigidity, and repetitive behaviors-are increasingly recognized in individuals with schizophrenia, particularly in early-onset cases and subtypes with predominant negative symptoms. This overlap has prompted investigations into shared pathophysiological mechanisms. One emerging area of focus is the role of neuroinflammation in schizophrenia, which may contribute to the manifestation of autistic features. Immunological research indicates the presence of chronic low-grade inflammation, microglial activation, and disruption of the blood-brain barrier in schizophrenia. In particular, an imbalance in T-helper (Th) cell responses-specifically a shift toward Th2 dominance or concurrent Th1/Th2 activation-may lead to dysregulated cytokine production and disturbances in neural function. These findings highlight the importance of exploring immunological pathways as a basis for specific symptom profiles. Additionally, current efforts aim to identify reliable inflammatory biomarkers in schizophrenia that could support diagnosis, predict disease course, and guide treatment. Evaluating neuroinflammatory markers in patients with autistic features may provide novel insight into schizophrenia subtypes and help tailor immunomodulatory therapies. This review explores the expression of autistic traits in schizophrenia and examines the role of neuroinflammation and Th1/Th2 imbalance as potential mechanisms and biomarkers.
自闭症特征，如社交沟通缺陷、认知僵化和重复行为，在精神分裂症患者中越来越受到认可，尤其是在早发性病例和以阴性症状为主的亚型中。这种重叠促使人们对共享的病理生理机制进行研究。一个新出现的重点领域是神经炎症在精神分裂症中的作用，它可能导致自闭症特征的表现。免疫学研究表明，精神分裂症患者存在慢性低度炎症、小胶质细胞激活和血脑屏障破坏。特别是，辅助性T（Th）细胞反应失衡，尤其是向Th2优势或同时Th1/Th2激活的转变，可能导致细胞因子产生失调和神经功能紊乱。这些发现凸显了探索免疫途径作为特定症状特征基础的重要性。此外，目前的努力旨在确定精神分裂症中可靠的炎症生物标志物，以支持诊断、预测疾病进程并指导治疗。评估具有自闭症特征患者的神经炎症标志物可能为精神分裂症亚型提供新的见解，并有助于定制免疫调节疗法。本综述探讨了自闭症特征在精神分裂症中的表达，并研究了神经炎症和Th1/Th2失衡作为潜在机制和生物标志物的作用。
