Mitogen-stimulated interleukin-2 production in never-medicated, first-episode schizophrenic patients. The influence of age at onset and negative symptoms.
BACKGROUND
Decreased interleukin-2 (IL-2) production is characteristic of active autoimmune diseases and has previously been reported in patients with schizophrenia. We attempted to replicate this finding in never-medicated schizophrenic patients and examine the possible correlation between IL-2 production and clinical variables.


METHODS
The production of IL-2 was measured in equal numbers (N = 33) of DSM-III-R-diagnosed schizophrenic patients and controls who were matched for age, race, and gender. Patients were also assessed for positive, negative, and depressive symptoms.


RESULTS
The production of IL-2 was significantly lower in patients than in controls. There was a significant positive correlation between IL-2 production and age at onset, and significant negative correlation between IL-2 production and negative symptom scores. In multivariate analyses, the predictive power was stronger for age at onset than for negative symptoms. Positive or depressive symptoms were unrelated to IL-2 production.


CONCLUSIONS
Our finding of low IL-2 production in neuroleptic-native schizophrenic patients confirms that this finding is not confounded by medications. The correlation of low IL-2 production with younger age at onset suggests that this may be a marker for a subtype of the illness or for severity.
Ganguli
R
R
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Brar
J S
JS
Chengappa
K R
KR
DeLeo
M
M
Yang
Z W
ZW
Shurin
G
G
Rabin
B S
BS
D000208:Acute Disease; D017668:Age of Onset; D015415:Biomarkers; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D008934:Mitogens; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D015415:Biomarkers; D007376:Interleukin-2; D008934:Mitogens