title: Telomerase levels in schizophrenia: a preliminary study.
abstract: We previously demonstrated that telomere length was markedly reduced in peripheral blood lymphocytes from individuals with schizophrenia. Since reduced telomere length can be caused by decreased telomerase activity, we quantitated basal telomerase activity in peripheral blood lymphocytes derived from individuals with schizophrenia (n=53), unaffected relatives (n=31) and unrelated controls (n=59). Telomerase activity varied greatly among individuals, suggesting that this enzymatic activity is affected by various factors. We observed a nominally significant decrease in telomerase activity among individuals with schizophrenia compared to unaffected individuals (unaffected relatives and unrelated controls). Further studies are needed to investigate the role of telomerase in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, 140 Old Orangeburg Road, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA. Barbara_Porton@brown.edu
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Porton
authors.forename: Lynn E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Delisi
authors.forename: Hilary C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Bertisch
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Melissa M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Benedict
authors.forename: William M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.forename: Hung-Teh
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Kao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology*; D019098:Telomerase / Q000097:blood* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D016615:Telomere / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D019098:Telomerase