Abstract
Alterations in neuroinflammatory processes have been suggested to contribute to the development of Schizophrenia (SZ); one component of the inflammatory system that has been linked to this disorder is interleukin-6 (IL-6). The minor allele of rs2228145, a functional polymorphism in the IL-6 receptor gene, has been associated to elevated IL-6 plasma levels and increased inflammatory activity, making it an interesting candidate to study as a possible factor underlying clinical heterogeneity in SZ. We studied a sample of 100 patients undergoing treatment with clozapine. Their symptoms were quantified by Brief Psychotic Rating Scale; those with the lowest scores (“remitted”) were compared with the highest (“clozapine treatment resistant”). We determined allelic frequencies for rs2228145 and IL-6 plasma levels. Our results do not support a role of IL-6 in response to treatment with clozapine. Further studies accounting for potential confounding factors are necessary.
Highlights
Schizophrenia (SZ) may be etiologically related to a chronic neuroinflammatory process, with greater inflammatory activity in affected individuals with active psychosis as well as in treatment-resistant cases [1,2,3]
Several inflammatory mediators have been proposed to be implicated in SZ, including interleukin 6 (IL-6) [7, 8]
The coding single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2228145 of IL-6R gene leads to a substitution of aspartic acid to alanine in position 358 (Asp358Ala variant)
Summary
Schizophrenia (SZ) may be etiologically related to a chronic neuroinflammatory process, with greater inflammatory activity in affected individuals with active psychosis as well as in treatment-resistant cases [1,2,3]. In this regard, most evidence comes from the observed higher risk of presenting SZ in subjects whose mothers suffered infections during pregnancy, with activation of the maternal immune response [4], and from findings of elevated levels of immune system components in SZ-affected individuals [5]. The minor allele of rs2228145 (Ala) has been associated with higher sIL-6R levels and circulating/plasma IL-6 levels [9,10,11]
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