Alteration in the mRNA expression profile of the autophagy-related mTOR pathway in schizophrenia patients treated with olanzapine.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The mammalian target of rapamycin protein (mTOR) signaling pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and the mechanism of extrapyramidal adverse reactions to antipsychotic drugs, which might be mediated by an mTOR-dependent autophagy impairment. This study aimed to examine the expression of mTOR pathway genes in patients with schizophrenia treated with olanzapine, which is considered an mTOR inhibitor and autophagy inducer.

METHODS:

Thirty-two patients with acute schizophrenia who had been treated with olanzapine for four weeks (average dose 14.24 ± 4.35 mg/d) and 32 healthy volunteers were recruited. Before and after olanzapine treatment, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used to evaluate the symptoms of patients with schizophrenia, and the mRNA expression levels of mTOR pathway-related genes, including MTOR, RICTOR, RAPTOR, and DEPTOR, were detected in fasting venous blood samples from all subjects using real-time quantitative PCR.

RESULTS:

The MTOR and RICTOR mRNA expression levels in patients with acute schizophrenia were significantly decreased compared with those of healthy controls and further significantly decreased after four weeks of olanzapine treatment. The DEPTOR mRNA expression levels in patients with acute schizophrenia were not significantly different from those of healthy controls but were significantly increased after treatment. The expression levels of the RAPTOR mRNA were not significantly different among the three groups. The pairwise correlations of MTOR, DEPTOR, RAPTOR, and RICTOR mRNA expression levels in patients with acute schizophrenia and healthy controls were significant. After olanzapine treatment, the correlations between the expression levels of the DEPTOR and MTOR mRNAs and between the DEPTOR and RICTOR mRNAs disappeared.

CONCLUSIONS:

Abnormalities in the mTOR pathway, especially DEPTOR and mTORC2, might play important roles in the autophagy mechanism underlying the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and effects of olanzapine treatment.

• Authors: Fengwei Cui, Shuguang Gu, Yue Gu, Jiajun Yin, Chunxia Fang, Liang Liu
• Journal: BMC psychiatry (BMC Psychiatry) Vol. 21 Issue 1 Pg. 388 (08 04 2021) ISSN: 1471-244X [Electronic] England
• PMID: 34348681 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2021. The Author(s).

Chemical References

• Autophagy-Related Proteins
• Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
• RICTOR protein, human
• RNA, Messenger
• RPTOR protein, human
• Rapamycin-Insensitive Companion of mTOR Protein
• Regulatory-Associated Protein of mTOR
• DEPTOR protein, human
• MTOR protein, human
• TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
• Olanzapine
• Sirolimus

Topics

• Autophagy
• Autophagy-Related Proteins
• Humans
• Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
• Olanzapine (therapeutic use)
• RNA, Messenger (genetics)
• Rapamycin-Insensitive Companion of mTOR Protein
• Regulatory-Associated Protein of mTOR
• Schizophrenia (drug therapy, genetics)
• Sirolimus
• TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases (genetics)