Abnormal serum cytokine levels and metagenomics of intestinal flora in patients with schizophrenia

Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2022 07 v.57 1142-1146     font:big middle small

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Authors:Gao Jianliang; Zhang Aiguo; Yao Lihui; Chen Yuanyuan; Cheng Peng; Su Hong; Zhang Xulai

Keywords:schizophrenia;cytokine;intestinal flora;metagenomics

DOI:10.19405/j.cnki.issn1000-1492.2022.07.024

〔Abstract〕 Objective This study is designed to compare the changes of intestinal microflora and cytokine levels in patients with schizophrenia in different periods, analyze the correlation between intestinal microflora and disease symptoms, and explore the influence of intestinal microflora changes on the symptoms of patients with schizophrenia. Methods 40 schizophrenic patients in different periods were included in the study, with their demographic data of age, body mass index(BMI), sex and course of disease collected. For each subject, serum was first collected for the levels of cytokines to be determined by an Meso Scale Discovery. The severity of schizophrenia was then assessed using negative and positive symptom scales. Finally macrofactor sequencing of intestinal flora was performed using MetaGeneMark. Results Serum levels of interleukin-6(IL-6), interleukin-10(IL-10), interleukin-17(IL-17), interleukin-23(IL-23), and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in the acute stage were higher than those in remission stage, and the results were statistically significant(P<0.05). Negative and positive symptom Scale(PANSS) positive factor scores were negatively correlated with TNF-α and IL-17(R=-0.312,P<0.05;R=-0.399,P<0.05); IL-23 was positively correlated with the negative factor score of the scale(R=-0.344,P<0.05). IL-6 was positively correlated with scale cognitive factor score(R=-0.339,P<0.05). IL-23 was positively correlated with the total score of the scale(R=-0.370,P<0.05). The microbial diversity detected in stool samples of patients with acute schizophrenia was lower than that of patients with remission, and certain difference was detected in the intestinal flora species composition between patients in the acute stage and in the remission stage. Conclusion The level of serum cytokines in the acute stage of schizophrenia is higher than that in the remission stage, and some cytokines levels are correlated with clinical symptoms.