Association of structural changes of the brain with systemic immune activation in schizophrenia

Abstract

The goal of this work was to investigate the associations between IL-17A levels and structural MRI findings to clarify immune factors of pathogenesis and search for biomarkers of unfavorable disease course. 45 patients with schizophrenia and 30 healthy volunteers were enrolled into the study. The levels of cytokines (IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17A) and inflammatory markers were determined by ELISA. MRI scans were performed on a Siemens Magnetom Verio 3T MRI scanner. It was found that elevated levels of cytokine IL-17A are associated with morphometric changes in the frontal cortex, signs of systemic inflammation and Th2 activation of the adaptive immune system in the patients. These findings make an important contribution to understanding the role of immune disorders in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, including brain structure disorders, and indicate that IL-17A may be a biomarker of these disorders. Confirmation of correlations between structural neuroimaging and markers of inflammation may provide the basis for new interdisciplinary approaches to the diagnosis and prognosis of schizophrenia.