Journal of International Psychiatry

【Abstract】Objective To investigate the changes of plasma inflammatory Cytokines levels in genetic high-risk of schizophrenia (GHR-SZ) individuals and schizophrenia (SZ) patients, and to evaluate the roles in the occurrence and development of SZ. Methods A total of 289 subjects, 94 SZ patients, 60 GHR-SZ individuals and 135 healthy controls (HC) were enrolled in this study. The levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6),tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in plasma were measured by Luminex assay. The clinical symptom severity of participants were evaluated by Hamilton Depression Scale-17、Hamilton Depression Scale and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Results The level of IL-6 in SZ was significantly higher than that in GHR-SZ and HCs (P < 0.05); The level of TNF-α in SZ and GHR-SZ groups was higher than that in HCs (P < 0.05); In SZ, IL-6 was positively correlated with HAMD and HAMA score. In GHR-SZ, IL-6 was positively correlated with HAMD total score (P < 0.05); In SZ group, TNF-α level was positively correlated with HAMA and BPRS score (P < 0.05). Conclusion The activation of plasma inflammatory cytokines exists in both SZ and GHR-SZ, which may be related to clinical symptoms of SZ.

【Key words】Schizophrenia; Genetic High-Risk; Inflammatory Cytokines