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. 2020 Aug 18;6(1):20.
doi: 10.1038/s41537-020-00112-5.

Reduced levels of circulating adhesion molecules in adolescents with early-onset psychosis

Kirsten Wedervang-Resell  1   2 , Thor Ueland  3   4   5 , Pål Aukrust  3   5   6 , Svein Friis  7   5 , Kirsten B Holven  8 , Cecilie H Johannessen  9 , Tove Lekva  3 , Vera Lonning  9   10 , Runar E Smelror  9   10 , Attila Szabo  9 , Ole A Andreassen  9   7 , Anne M Myhre  7   11 , Ingrid Agartz  9   10   12
Affiliations

Reduced levels of circulating adhesion molecules in adolescents with early-onset psychosis

Kirsten Wedervang-Resell et al. NPJ Schizophr. .

Abstract

It is suggested that neurodevelopmental abnormalities are involved in the disease mechanisms of psychotic disorders. Although cellular adhesion molecules (CAMs) participate in neurodevelopment, modulate blood-brain barrier permeability, and facilitate leukocyte migration, findings concerning their systemic levels in adults with psychosis are inconsistent. We examined plasma levels and mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of selected CAMs in adolescents with early-onset psychosis (EOP) aged 12-18 years (n = 37) and age-matched healthy controls (HC) (n = 68). EOP patients exhibited significantly lower circulating levels of soluble platelet selectin (~-22%) and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (~-14%) than HC. We found no significant associations with symptom severity. PSEL mRNA expression was increased in PBMCs of patients and significantly negatively correlated to duration of illness. These findings suggest a role for CAMs in the pathophysiology of psychotic disorders.

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Conflict of interest statement

O.A.A. has received speaker’s honorarium from Lundbeck and is a consultant to HealthLytix. K.B.H. has received grants and/or personal fees from Tine SA, Mills DA, Olympic Seafood, Amgen, Sanofi, Kaneka and Pronova, none of which are related to the content of this manuscript. All other authors declare no competing financial or non-financial interests as defined by Springer Nature.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Adolescents with early-onset psychosis (n = 37) have reduced levels of plasma sP-selectin and sVCAM-1 compared with healthy controls (n = 68), whereas plasma levels of sICAM-1, sMADCAM-1, sJAM-A, and sN-CAD were not significantly different between groups, after correction for multiple testing (Bonferroni).
Individual measurements are indicated as dots; the horizontal line represents the median for the whole group of patients and HC. Statistical comparison was conducted using Mann–Whitney U test. HC healthy controls vs. patients with early-onset psychosis, sP-selectin soluble platelet selectin, sICAM-1 soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, sVCAM-1 soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1, sMAdCAM-1 soluble mucosal vascular addressin cell adhesion molecule-1, sJAM-A soluble junctional adhesion molecule-A, sN-CAD soluble neuronal cadherin, ns not significant, *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Adolescents with early-onset psychosis (n = 25) have increased expression levels of PSEL mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells compared with healthy controls (n = 45), after correction for multiple testing (Bonferroni).
The expression levels of ICAM1 mRNA, NCAD mRNA, and JAMA mRNA showed no clear differences. Individual measurements are indicated as dots; the horizontal line represents the median for the whole group of patients and HC. mRNA levels were normalized against housekeeping genes β-actin and GAPDH and presented as relative mRNA levels on y-axis. Statistical comparison was conducted using Mann–Whitney U test. HC healthy controls vs. patients with early-onset psychosis, mRNA messenger ribonucleic acid, ICAM1 intercellular adhesion molecule-1, PSEL platelet selectin, NCAD neuronal cadherin, JAMA junctional adhesion molecule-A, ns not significant, **p < 0.01.
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