title: Increased dendritic MAP2 expression in the hippocampus in schizophrenia.
abstract: Microtubule associated proteins (MAPs) are central to the development of normal neuronal cytoarchitecture and have been reported to be altered in schizophrenia. In 12 schizophrenic (DSM-III-R criteria) and 12 control hippocampi, we estimated the MAP2 immunoreactive dendritic length using antibodies that recognize total MAP2 (MAP2-T), and a non-phosphorylated form of MAP2 (MAP2-NP). Within the corona ammonis (CA) subregions, and the subiculum, we estimated, for each antibody, the length of the immunoreactive dendritic arborisation using a stereological length estimation technique based on Bouffon's Needle principle and image analysis computer software. Controlling for the confounding effects of age and post-mortem delay, we have found an elevation in overall MAP2-NP immunoreactive dendritic length among schizophrenic subjects in the CA3 (F=5.9, p=0.03), CA2 (F=6.5, p=0.02), CA1 (F=8.3, p=0.01) and subicular (F=9.5, p=0.008) hippocampal subregions. Similar analyses of MAP2-T immunoreactive dendritic length demonstrated significant elevations in the CA1 (F=8.3, p=0.02), CA4 (F=4.9, p=0.04) and subicular (F=7.4, p=0.01) regions. The findings of this quantitative study of increased MAP2 immunoreactive dendritic arborisation in schizophrenia are most likely to reflect either an altered dendritic arborisation or a generalised increase in levels of MAP2 with the hippocampal pyramidal neurons. These findings add to the growing literature indicating the presence of synaptodendritic abnormalities in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropathology, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK. spkadrc@iop.bpmf.ac.uk
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cotter
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kerwin
authors.forename: I P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Everall
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003712:Dendrites / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000473:pathology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins