title: Loss of Microtubule-Associated Protein 2 Immunoreactivity Linked to Dendritic Spine Loss in Schizophrenia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) is a neuronal protein that plays a role in maintaining dendritic structure through its interaction with microtubules. In schizophrenia (Sz), numerous studies have revealed that the typically robust immunoreactivity (IR) of MAP2 is significantly reduced across several cortical regions. The relationship between MAP2-IR reduction and lower dendritic spine density, which is frequently reported in Sz, has not been explored in previous studies, and MAP2-IR loss has not been investigated in the primary auditory cortex (Brodmann area 41), a site of conserved pathology in Sz.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using quantitative spinning disk confocal microscopy in two cohorts of subjects with Sz and matched control subjects (Sz subjects, n = 20; control subjects, n = 20), we measured MAP2-IR and dendritic spine density and spine number in deep layer 3 of BA41.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjects with Sz exhibited a significant reduction in MAP2-IR. The reductions in MAP2-IR were not associated with neuron loss, loss of MAP2 protein, clinical confounders, or technical factors. Dendritic spine density and number also were reduced in Sz and correlated with MAP2-IR. In 12 (60%) subjects with Sz, MAP2-IR values were lower than the lowest values in control subjects; only in this group were spine density and number significantly reduced.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings demonstrate that MAP2-IR loss is closely linked to dendritic spine pathology in Sz. Because MAP2 shares substantial sequence, regulatory, and functional homology with MAP tau, the wealth of knowledge regarding tau biology and the rapidly expanding field of tau therapeutics provide resources for identifying how MAP2 is altered in Sz and possible leads to novel therapeutics.
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Micah A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Shelton
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Jason T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Allan R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Sampson
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Kenneth N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Fish
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Matthew L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: MacDonald
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Caitlin E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Moyer
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: James V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: DiBitetto
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Centre for Stochastic Geometry and Advanced Bioimaging, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Karl-Anton
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Dorph-Petersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Penzes
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: Translational Neuroscience Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: sweetra@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Sweet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins
keywords: Auditory cortex; Confocal microscopy; Dendritic spines; Microtubule-Associated Protein 2; Postmortem human tissue; Schizophrenia
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