Decreased bombesin peptide response to cigarette smoking in schizophrenia.
Schizophrenic patients are extremely heavy tobacco smokers. However, a lower incidence of lung cancer in schizophrenic patients has been observed in comparison to other heavy smokers. Nicotine increases the proliferation of pulmonary neuroendocrine tissue, causing the release of a bombesin-like peptide. Thus, bombesin-like peptide levels in urine may be an indicator of precancerous, cigarette-induced lung damage. Bombesin-like peptide levels of 10 schizophrenic smokers and 11 schizophrenic nonsmokers were compared to those of nonschizophrenic subjects matched for age and pack-years of smoking. The nonschizophrenic smokers showed the expected increase in urinary bombesin-like peptide levels, as compared to nonschizophrenic nonsmokers. Schizophrenic patients had lower bombesin-like peptide levels independent of smoking effects. The mechanism of the difference in bombesin-like peptide levels between schizophrenic patients and nonschizophrenic subjects is unknown, but one possibility involves alteration in the alpha 7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, which mediates the growth of some neuroendocrine cell lines in vitro.
Olincy
A
A
Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver 80262, USA.
Leonard
S
S
Young
D A
DA
Sullivan
B
B
Freedman
R
R
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001839:Bombesin / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010455:Peptides / Q000652:urine; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000652:urine*; D012907:Smoking / Q000378:metabolism*
D010455:Peptides; D001839:Bombesin