title: Immunoreactivity of 43 kDa growth-associated protein is decreased in post mortem hippocampus of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
abstract: Impairment of neuroplasticity is considered to play a role in the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders. To further characterize the impairment of neuroplasticity in psychiatric disorders, expression of the neuronal plasticity marker 43 kDa growth-associated protein (GAP-43) was detected in postmortem hippocampal sub-regions from psychiatric patients including major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia subjects, and matched control subjects. We found that GAP-43 protein levels in the hippocampal hilar region were significantly lower in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia subjects than in control subjects. We also found that GAP-43 protein levels in the inner molecular layer of the dentate gyrus and the stratum radiatum of CA2 region were reduced in a trend in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia subjects when compared with control subjects. These results suggest that impairment of neuroplasticity may occur in the hippocampus of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia patients.
authors.affiliation: The Vivian Rakoff Mood Disorders Laboratory, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Simon Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Jun-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yarema B
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Bezchlibnyk
authors.forename: L Trevor
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D019922:GAP-43 Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008970:Molecular Weight; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D019922:GAP-43 Protein