Increased NLRP1 mRNA and Protein Expression Suggests Inflammasome Activation in the Dorsolateral Prefrontal and Medial Orbitofrontal Cortex in Schizophrenia

Španić Popovački, Ena; Vogrinc, Dora; Fuller, Heidi; Langer Horvat, Lea; Mayer, Davor; Kopić, Janja; Pintarić, Klara; Babić Leko, Mirjana; Pravica, Mihaela; Krsnik, Željka; Marčinko, Darko; Šagud, Marina; Hof, Patrick; Mladinov, Mihovil; Šimić, Goran

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a complex mental condition, with key symptoms marked for diagnosis including delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, reduced emotional expression, and social dysfunction. In the context of major developmental hypotheses of schizophrenia, notably those concerning maternal immune activation and neuroinflammation, we studied NLRP1 expression and content in the postmortem brain tissue of 10 schizophrenia and 10 control subjects. In the medial orbitofrontal cortex (Brodmann’s area 11/12) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (area 46) from both hemispheres of six schizophrenia subjects, the NLRP1 mRNA expression was significantly higher than in six control brains (p < 0.05). As the expression difference was highest for the medial orbitofrontal cortex in the right hemisphere, we assessed NLRP1-immunoreactive pyramidal neurons in layers III, V, and VI in the medial orbitofrontal cortex in the right hemisphere of seven schizophrenia and five control brains. Compared to controls, we quantified a significantly higher number of NLRP1-positive pyramidal neurons in the schizophrenia brains (p < 0.01), suggesting NLRP1 inflammasome activation in schizophrenia subjects. Layer III pyramidal neuron dysfunction aligns with working memory deficits, while impairments of pyramidal neurons in layers V and VI likely disrupt predictive processing. We propose NLRP1 inflammasome as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target in schizophrenia.

Citation

Španić Popovački, E., Vogrinc, D., Fuller, H., Langer Horvat, L., Mayer, D., Kopić, J., Pintarić, K., Babić Leko, M., Pravica, M., Krsnik, Ž., Marčinko, D., Šagud, M., Hof, P., Mladinov, M., & Šimić, G. (2024). Increased NLRP1 mRNA and Protein Expression Suggests Inflammasome Activation in the Dorsolateral Prefrontal and Medial Orbitofrontal Cortex in Schizophrenia. Biomolecules, 14(3), Article 302. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom14030302

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 29, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Mar 4, 2024
• Publication Date: Mar 4, 2024
• Deposit Date: Feb 29, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 20, 2024
• Journal: Biomolecules
• Electronic ISSN: 2218-273X
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 3
• Article Number: 302
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/biom14030302
• Keywords: schizophrenia; NLRP1 inflammasome; predictive processing; prefrontal cortex; pyram-idal neurons.
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/758487