Effects of Antipsychotic Drugs on the Heat Shock Protein 70 and 90 in the Patients with Schizophrenia

Kim, Jae Hyun; Lee, Soo Jung

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Antibodies to stress proteins, which play a protective role against environmental stresses in a cell, might be related to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. In this study, we examined antibodies to HSP70 and HSP90 in patients with schizophrenia before and after medication. Clinical variables such as age at onset, duration of illness, number of admission, and severity of symptoms according to immunoreactivity to HSP70 and HSP90 were also investigated in patients with schizophrenia.
METHODS
IgG antibodies to HSP70 and HSP90 in 70 patients with schizophrenia and 83 normal controls were measured by ELISA.
RESULTS
The levels of HSP70 and HSP90 antibodies were higher in the patients with schizophrenia than normal controls. Also, the frequencies of positive HSP70 and HSP90 antibodies were higher in the patients with schizophrenia, and their distribution was significantly associated with each other. The level of HSP70 antibody and frequency of positive HSP70 antibody decreased in the patients after medication. But, the level of HSP90 antibody and frequency of positive HSP90 antibody were not significantly changed after medication. The scores of symptom severity(brief psychiatric rating scale(BPRS)) were higher in the patients who showed positive HSP70 antibody. After medication, BPRS scores were not different between the positive and negative HSP70 antibody groups. Otherwise, the levels of HSP90 antibody were not related with BPRS scores and not changed after medication.
CONCLUSION
Our results suggest that the antipsychotic drugs might affect the immunore-activity to HSP70 but not to HSP90 in the patients with schizophrenia.