Investigating disease susceptibility and the negative correlation of schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis focusing on MIF and CD14 gene polymorphisms

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Polymorphisms in CD14 Gene May Modify Soluble CD14 Levels and Represent Risk Factors for Multiple Sclerosis

Statement of RetractionWe, the Editors and Publisher of the journal Immunological Investigations, have retracted the following article:Merhdad Farrokhi, Pedram Moeini, Mohammada Fazilati, Habibollah Nazem, Shahla Faraji, Zahra Saadatpour, Elyas Fadaei, Leila Saadatpour, Ali Rezaei, Sadra Ansaripour and Ali Amani-Beni (2016) Polymorphisms in CD14 Gene May Modify Soluble CD14 Levels and Represent Risk Factors for Multiple Sclerosis, Immunological Investigations, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08820139.2016.1226897Since publication, significant concerns have been raised about the author affiliations, ethical approval, and the integrity of the data in the article.When approached for an explanation, the authors provided responses to our queries regarding the flow cytometry data, but they have not sufficiently addressed all of our concerns. In particular, the authors and institution did not respond to our requests for proof that the research was conducted at the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences or provide proof of ethical approval.As verifying the validity of published work is core to the integrity of the scholarly record, we are therefore retracting the article. The corresponding author listed in this publication has been informed.We have been informed in our decision-making by our Editorial Policies and COPE guidelines.The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as 'Retracted'.

Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor - 173 G/C Polymorphism is Associated With The Age of Onset and Insight in Schizophrenia in the Turkish Population

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the genetic variant in the macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) -173 G/C in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) by comparing genotype distributions of MIF -173 G/C between patients and healthy controls considering clinical parameters.

METHODS

A sample of 118 patients with SCZ and 100 healthy volunteers were included in the study. The patients were evaluated with some scales in terms of clinical features (symptom severity, level of insight, age of onset, and treatment resistance). The polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used to determine gene polymorphism.

RESULTS

There was a statistically significant difference between the allele frequency (G, C) distributions of SCZ patients with early- and adult-onset. The C allele frequency was significantly higher in SCZ patients with early-onset (p = .033). According to the impairment of insight, we observed statistically significant differences in genotype (GG, GC, CC) distributions between SCZ patients with good and poor insight. SCZ patients with poor insight had a higher GG genotype frequency than SCZ patients with good insight (p = .021). Again, there was a statistically significant difference between genotype groups (GG, GC/CC) regarding the age of illness onset (p = .037) and schedule for assessing the three components of insight (SATCI) score (p = .005). While the age of onset of SCZ was significantly earlier in patients with the GC/CC genotype, SATCI scores of SCZ patients with the GG genotype were significantly lower than SCZ patients with GC/CC genotype.

CONCLUSIONS

MIF -173 G/C polymorphism may be associated with the age of illness onset and impairment of insight in SCZ.

Sexual Dimorphic Role of CD14 (Cluster of Differentiation 14) in Salt-Sensitive Hypertension and Renal Injury

Genomic sequence and gene expression association studies in animals and humans have identified genes that may be integral in the pathogenesis of various diseases. CD14 (cluster of differentiation 14)-a cell surface protein involved in innate immune system activation-is one such gene associated with cardiovascular and hypertensive disease. We previously showed that this gene is upregulated in renal macrophages of Dahl salt-sensitive animals fed a high-salt diet; here we test the hypothesis that CD14 contributes to the elevated pressure and renal injury observed in salt-sensitive hypertension. Using CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat-associated 9), we created a targeted mutation in the CD14 gene on the Dahl SS (SS/JrHSDMcwi) background and validated the absence of CD14 peptides via mass spectrometry. Radiotelemetry was used to monitor blood pressure in wild-type and CD14^-/- animals challenged with high salt and identified infiltrating renal immune cells via flow cytometry. Germline knockout of CD14 exacerbated salt-sensitive hypertension and renal injury in female animals but not males. CD14^-/- females demonstrated increased infiltrating macrophages but no difference in infiltrating lymphocytes. Transplant of CD14^+/+ or CD14^-/- bone marrow was used to isolate the effects of CD14 knockout to hematopoietic cells and confirmed that the differential phenotype observed was due to knockout of CD14 in hematopoietic cells. Ovariectomy was used to remove the influence of female sex hormones, which completely abrogated the effect of CD14 knockout. These studies provide a novel treatment target and evidence of a new dichotomy in immune activation between sexes within the context of hypertensive disease where CD14 regulates immune cell activation and renal injury.

The genetic basis for the inverse relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia

Introduction

Rheumatoid arthritis is a common autoimmune disease and schizophrenia is a relatively common and debilitating neurological disorder. There are several common features between rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia. The inverse relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia has been replicated in several studies. Despite evidence for an inverse epidemiological relationship and negative correlations for risk between rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia, there are no biological data that directly support this inverse relationship.

Materials and Methods’

We meta‐analyzed the genome‐wide association studies to investigate the shared association loci between rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia at the genome‐wide scale. Rheumatoid arthritis‐ and schizophrenia‐associated loci in most recent genome‐wide association studies of rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia were tested. Genetic risk score analysis was also conducted to investigate the collective contribution of schizophrenia risk loci to rheumatoid arthritis risk.

Results

Rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia meta‐genome‐wide association study showed a significant peak at the major histocompatibility complex locus on chromosome 6 in both rheumatoid arthritis‐schizophrenia meta‐genome‐wide association study and inverted meta‐genome‐wide association study datasets. Testing rheumatoid arthritis‐ and schizophrenia‐associated loci outside the human leukocyte antigen region showed no association with both rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia at a genome‐wide level of significance. Weighted genetic risk scores showed no evidence for a statistically significant association between rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia.

Conclusion

The finding of our study is consistent with the role of the major histocompatibility complex locus in the genetic correlation between rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia, and suggests that either schizophrenia has an autoimmune basis and/or rheumatoid arthritis has an active neurological component.

Schizophrenia in a genomic era: a review from the pathogenesis, genetic and environmental etiology to diagnosis and treatment insights

Schizophrenia is a common multigenic and debilitating neurological disorder characterized by chronic psychotic symptoms and psychosocial impairment. Complex interactions of genetics and environmental factors have been implicated in etiology of schizophrenia. There is no central pathophysiology mechanism, diagnostic neuropathology, or biological markers have been defined for schizophrenia. However, a number of different hypotheses including neurodevelopmental and neurochemical hypotheses have been proposed to explain the neuropathology of schizophrenia. This review provides an overview of pathogenesis, genetic and environmental etiologies to diagnosis and treatment insights in clinical management of schizophrenia in light of the recent discoveries of genetic loci associated with susceptibility to schizophrenia.

The Role of MIF-173G/C Gene Polymorphism in the Susceptibility of Autoimmune Diseases

Some certain genetic polymorphisms have been considered to implicate in the pathogenesis and progression of autoimmune diseases and may predispose to an early stage of general autoimmune susceptibility. Recent studies have been conducted to investigate the association between macrophage migration inhibitory factor- (MIF-) 173G/C gene polymorphism and autoimmune diseases; however, the results were not exactly identical. In the present study, a systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies was performed to estimate the relationship. A comprehensive search of PubMed, Ebsco, EMbase, WanFang databases and CNKI was done. Odds ratio (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were combined to pool the effect size. The publication bias was examined by Begg's funnel plots and Egger's test. RevMan 5.3 and STATA 12.0 software were used for statistical processing. 23 papers were included, and the results revealed that MIF-173G/C was significantly associated with an increased risk of autoimmune diseases in five genetic models (recessive genetic model: OR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.52-2.50; dominant genetic model: OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.24-1.46; allele model: OR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.23-1.41; homozygote model: OR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.57-2.35; heterozygote model: OR = 4.92, 95% CI: 4.03-6.02), whether in Asia, Europe, or North America. Furthermore, subgroup analysis showed an increasing risk in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn's disease (CD), atopic dermatitis (AD), Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP), and Henoch-Schonlein purpura nephritis (HSPN), but it was not related to the susceptibility of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Therefore, it could be considered that MIF-173G/C polymorphism could increase the susceptibility of autoimmune diseases, while there may be the discrepancy of disease entity.

Increased serum levels and promoter polymorphisms of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

Numerous studies have suggested that an immune system imbalance plays an important role in schizophrenia. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pleiotropic cytokine. It plays multiple roles in various biological processes, including inflammation and neurogenesis. Furthermore, several exhaustive serum proteomic profiling studies have identified MIF as a potential biomarker of schizophrenia. Here, we investigate MIF protein levels in serum and postmortem prefrontal cortex in patients with schizophrenia and controls. Moreover, we investigate the association of two functional polymorphisms in the MIF gene promoter region (MIF-794CATT_5-8 microsatellite and MIF-173G/C single-nucleotide polymorphism [SNP]) with schizophrenia.

METHODS

We measured serum MIF levels with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (51 patients vs. 86 controls) and postmortem brain MIF levels with a western blotting assay (18 patients vs. 22 controls). Subsequently, we genotyped the MIF-794CATT_5-8 microsatellite with a fluorescence-based fragment assay and the MIF-173G/C SNP with a TaqMan SNP genotyping assay (1483 patients vs. 1454 controls).

RESULTS

Serum MIF levels were significantly higher in patients with schizophrenia than in controls (p=0.00118), and were positively correlated with antipsychotic dose (Spearman's r=0.222, p=0.0402). In addition, an earlier age of onset was observed in patients with a high serum MIF level (≥40ng/mL) than those with a low serum MIF level (<40ng/mL) (p=0.0392). However, postmortem brain MIF levels did not differ between patients with schizophrenia and controls. The association study revealed that the CATT₆-G haplotype was nominally significantly associated with schizophrenia (p=0.0338), and that the CATT₆ allele and CATT₆-G haplotype were significantly associated with female adolescent-onset schizophrenia (AsOS) (corrected p=0.0222 and p=0.0147, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that serum MIF level is a potential pharmacodynamic and/or monitoring marker of schizophrenia, and is related to a novel antipsychotic effect beyond dopamine antagonism. Furthermore, the MIF gene polymorphisms are associated with the risk for schizophrenia especially in adolescent females, and are potential stratification markers of schizophrenia. Further studies of MIF are warranted to elucidate the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and the effects of antipsychotics.

Associations between circulating macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) levels and rheumatoid arthritis, and between MIF gene polymorphisms and disease susceptibility: a meta-analysis

Aim

To systematically review evidence regarding the relationship between circulating macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) levels and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the association between MIF gene polymorphisms and RA susceptibility.

Design

We performed a meta-analysis on data of serum/plasma MIF levels in patients with RA and in controls, and on associations between the MIF−173 C/G and −794CATT5-8 polymorphisms and RA susceptibility.

Patients

Twelve studies, comprising a total of 362 RA cases and 531 controls evaluated for MIF levels, and 2367 RA cases and 2395 controls evaluated for MIF polymorphisms, were included.

Results

MIF levels were significantly higher in the RA group than in the control group (standardised mean difference (95% CI) 0.923 (0.766 to 1.080), p<0.001). Stratification by ethnicity revealed significantly higher MIF levels in the RA group in Caucasian, Asian and Latin American populations. MIF levels were significantly higher in patients with RA, regardless of adjustment, sample size or data type evaluated. RA was identified to be significantly associated with the MIF−173 C allele (OR (95% CI) 1.271 (1.141 to 1.416), p<0.001), as well as with the −794CATT7 allele (OR (95% CI) 1.229 (1.084 to 1.415), p=0.002) and the −794CATT7-MIF-173C haplotype RA (OR (95% CI) 1.433 (1.138 to 1.805), p=0.002).

Conclusions

Our meta-analyses revealed significantly higher circulating MIF levels in patients with RA, and found evidence of associations between the MIF−173 C/G and −794CATT5-8 polymorphisms and RA susceptibility.

Cerebrospinal fluid microglia and neurodegenerative markers in twins concordant and discordant for psychotic disorders

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are debilitating psychiatric disorders with partially shared symptomatology including psychotic symptoms and cognitive impairment. Aberrant levels of microglia and neurodegenerative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers have previously been found in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We aimed to analyze familial and environmental influences on these CSF markers and their relation to psychiatric symptoms and cognitive ability. CSF was collected from 17 complete twin pairs, nine monozygotic and eight dizygotic, and from one twin sibling. Two pairs were concordant for schizophrenia, and 11 pairs discordant for schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or bipolar disorder, and four pairs were not affected by psychotic disorders. Markers of microglia activation [monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), chitinase 3-like protein 1 (YKL-40), and soluble cluster of differentiation 14 (sCD14)], markers of β-amyloid metabolism (AβX-38, AβX-40, AβX-42 and Aβ1-42), soluble amyloid precursor proteins (sAPP-α and sAPP-β), total tau (T-tau), phosphorylated tau (P-tau), and CSF/serum albumin ratio were measured in CSF using immunoassays. Heritability of the CSF markers was estimated, and associations to psychiatric and cognitive measurements were analyzed. Heritability estimates of the microglia markers were moderate, whereas several neurodegenerative markers showed high heritability. In contrast, AβX-42, Aβ1-42, P-tau and CSF/serum albumin ratio were influenced by dominant genetic variation. Higher sCD14 levels were found in twins with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder compared to their not affected co-twins, and higher sCD14-levels were associated with psychotic symptoms. The study provides support for a significant role of sCD14 in psychotic disorders and a possible role of microglia activation in psychosis.

New data and an old puzzle: the negative association between schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis

BACKGROUND

A long-standing epidemiological puzzle is the reduced rate of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in those with schizophrenia (SZ) and vice versa. Traditional epidemiological approaches to determine if this negative association is underpinned by genetic factors would test for reduced rates of one disorder in relatives of the other, but sufficiently powered data sets are difficult to achieve. The genomics era presents an alternative paradigm for investigating the genetic relationship between two uncommon disorders.

METHODS

We use genome-wide common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from independently collected SZ and RA case-control cohorts to estimate the SNP correlation between the disorders. We test a genotype X environment (GxE) hypothesis for SZ with environment defined as winter- vs summer-born.

RESULTS

We estimate a small but significant negative SNP-genetic correlation between SZ and RA (-0.046, s.e. 0.026, P = 0.036). The negative correlation was stronger for the SNP set attributed to coding or regulatory regions (-0.174, s.e. 0.071, P = 0.0075). Our analyses led us to hypothesize a gene-environment interaction for SZ in the form of immune challenge. We used month of birth as a proxy for environmental immune challenge and estimated the genetic correlation between winter-born and non-winter born SZ to be significantly less than 1 for coding/regulatory region SNPs (0.56, s.e. 0.14, P = 0.00090).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results are consistent with epidemiological observations of a negative relationship between SZ and RA reflecting, at least in part, genetic factors. Results of the month of birth analysis are consistent with pleiotropic effects of genetic variants dependent on environmental context.

Autoimmune diseases, gastrointestinal disorders and the microbiome in schizophrenia: more than a gut feeling

Autoimmunity, gastrointestinal (GI) disorders and schizophrenia have been associated with one another for a long time. This paper reviews these connections and provides a context by which multiple risk factors for schizophrenia may be related. Epidemiological studies strongly link schizophrenia with autoimmune disorders including enteropathic celiac disease. Exposure to wheat gluten and bovine milk casein also contribute to non-celiac food sensitivities in susceptible individuals. Co-morbid GI inflammation accompanies humoral immunity to food antigens, occurs early during the course of schizophrenia and appears to be independent from antipsychotic-generated motility effects. This inflammation impacts endothelial barrier permeability and can precipitate translocation of gut bacteria into systemic circulation. Infection by the neurotropic gut pathogen, Toxoplasma gondii, will elicit an inflammatory GI environment. Such processes trigger innate immunity, including activation of complement C1q, which also functions at synapses in the brain. The emerging field of microbiome research lies at the center of these interactions with evidence that the abundance and diversity of resident gut microbiota contribute to digestion, inflammation, gut permeability and behavior. Dietary modifications of core bacterial compositions may explain inefficient gluten digestion and how immigrant status in certain situations is a risk factor for schizophrenia. Gut microbiome research in schizophrenia is in its infancy, but data in related fields suggest disease-associated altered phylogenetic compositions. In summary, this review surveys associative and experimental data linking autoimmunity, GI activity and schizophrenia, and proposes that understanding of disrupted biological pathways outside of the brain can lend valuable information regarding pathogeneses of complex, polygenic brain disorders.

Integrative approach for inference of gene regulatory networks using lasso-based random featuring and application to psychiatric disorders

Background

Inferring gene regulatory networks is one of the most interesting research areas in the systems biology. Many inference methods have been developed by using a variety of computational models and approaches. However, there are two issues to solve. First, depending on the structural or computational model of inference method, the results tend to be inconsistent due to innately different advantages and limitations of the methods. Therefore the combination of dissimilar approaches is demanded as an alternative way in order to overcome the limitations of standalone methods through complementary integration. Second, sparse linear regression that is penalized by the regularization parameter (lasso) and bootstrapping-based sparse linear regression methods were suggested in state of the art methods for network inference but they are not effective for a small sample size data and also a true regulator could be missed if the target gene is strongly affected by an indirect regulator with high correlation or another true regulator.

Results

We present two novel network inference methods based on the integration of three different criteria, (i) z-score to measure the variation of gene expression from knockout data, (ii) mutual information for the dependency between two genes, and (iii) linear regression-based feature selection.

Based on these criterion, we propose a lasso-based random feature selection algorithm (LARF) to achieve better performance overcoming the limitations of bootstrapping as mentioned above.

Conclusions

In this work, there are three main contributions. First, our z score-based method to measure gene expression variations from knockout data is more effective than similar criteria of related works. Second, we confirmed that the true regulator selection can be effectively improved by LARF. Lastly, we verified that an integrative approach can clearly outperform a single method when two different methods are effectively jointed. In the experiments, our methods were validated by outperforming the state of the art methods on DREAM challenge data, and then LARF was applied to inferences of gene regulatory network associated with psychiatric disorders.

[Psychiatric aspects of rheumatoid arthritis: Review of literature]

BACKGROUND

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory degenerative disease whose symptoms are mainly joint with significant functional impact, resulting in a restriction of the activities of the patient and increasing the impact on mental well-being. Several studies have been conducted to explore psychiatric disorders comorbid with RA.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this review is to present the various psychiatric manifestations of RA reported in the medical literature.

METHODS

A literature review was conducted using the Pubmed search with the following keywords: psychiatry, psychiatric manifestations, rheumatoid arthritis. Three hundred and sixty-one articles were reviewed for relevance and 47 references were selected.

RESULTS

Among the major psychiatric disorders found in RA, the anxiety and depressive disorders are prevalent (13 to 48% of patients), as well as suicide, insomnia and tiredness. The impairment of quality of life is markedly after age 65. The association between RA and schizophrenia seems negative so that factors predisposing one is protective for the other.

CONCLUSION

Comorbid psychiatric disorders with RA are prevalent and may increase the impairment of quality of life for patients. The detection and treatment of psychiatric disorders improve the care of patients with RA.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in cytokine MIF gene promoter region are closely associated with human susceptibility to tuberculosis in a southwestern province of China

The gene encoding macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been proposed as candidate tuberculosis (TB) susceptibility gene. In order to elucidate whether MIF gene variants are associated with susceptibility to retreatment cases of TB, and prevent drug-resistant TB prevalence, we conducted a study based on paired human population data. MIF -173 G/C single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs755622) were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. MIF levels were detected with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Association analysis of polymorphism to TB showed that distribution of MIF -173 genotypes (GC+CC) was significantly higher in total cases of TB than in the controls. Statistically significant differences of frequencies for MIF -173 (GG vs. GC+CC) were demonstrated when comparing total cases of TB, new cases of TB, and retreatment cases of TB to controls, respectively. In contrast, the frequencies of MIF -173 (GG vs. GC+CC) demonstrated no difference between new cases of TB and retreatment cases of TB. Association analysis of MIF protein concentrations to TB indicated that MIF concentration is significantly higher in total cases of TB, new cases of TB, and retreatment cases of TB than in controls (P<0.01). In summary, our results demonstrated that MIF gene -173 G/C single nucleotide polymorphisms implicate in genetic susceptibility to TB, and GC+CC of MIF -173 site increases the risk of TB. We also found that no correlation between -173 G/C single nucleotide polymorphism and retreatment cases of TB in Yunnan Province population of China.

CD226 (DNAM-1) is associated with susceptibility to juvenile idiopathic arthritis

OBJECTIVES

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is considered a complex genetic autoimmune disease. We investigated the association of genetic variants previously implicated in JIA, autoimmunity and/or immunoregulation, with susceptibility to JIA.

METHODS

A genetic association study was performed in 639 JIA patients and 1613 healthy controls of northwest European descent. Ninety-three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were genotyped in a candidate gene approach. Results of the entire JIA patient group (all subtypes) were compared with results obtained, alternatively, with a clinically homogeneous patient group including only oligoarticular and rheumatoid factor (RF) negative polyarticular JIA patients (n=493). Meta-analyses were performed for all SNPs that have been typed in other Caucasian JIA cohorts before.

RESULTS

SNPs in or near PTPN22, VTCN1, the IL2-IL21 region, ANKRD55 and TNFA were confirmed to be associated with JIA (p<0.05), strengthening the evidence for involvement of these genes in JIA. In the majority of these replicated SNPs, effect sizes were larger when analysing a homogeneous patient cohort than when analysing all subtypes. We identified two novel associations with oligoarticular and RF-negative polyarticular JIA: CD226 rs763361 (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.51, p=0.0006) and CD28 rs1980422 (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.55, p=0.008). Meta-analyses including reported studies confirmed the association of both SNPs with susceptibility to JIA (OR 1.16, p=0.001 and OR 1.18, p=0.001, for rs763361 and rs1980422, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The CD226 gene has been identified as novel association with JIA, and a SNP near CD28 as a suggestive association. Both genes are probable candidate risk factors, since they are involved in costimulation of T cells.

The role of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the neuroinflammation and neurogenesis of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness with chronic symptoms and significant impairment in psychosocial functioning. Although novel antipsychotics have been developed, the negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia are still unresponsive to pharmacotherapy. The high level of social impairment and a chronic deteriorating course suggest that schizophrenia likely has neurodegenerative characteristics. Inflammatory markers such as pro-inflammatory cytokines are well-known etiological factors for psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. Inflammation in the central nervous system is closely related to neurodegeneration. In addition to pro-inflammatory cytokines, microglia also play an important role in the inflammatory process in the CNS. Uncontrolled activity of pro-inflammatory cytokines and microglia can induce schizophrenia in tandem with genetic vulnerability and glutamatergic neurotransmitters. Several studies have investigated the possible effects of antipsychotics on inflammation and neurogenesis. Additionally, anti-inflammatory adjuvant therapy has been under investigation as a treatment option for schizophrenia. Further studies should consider the confounding effects of systemic factors such as metabolic syndrome and smoking. In addition, the unique mechanisms by which pro-inflammatory cytokines are involved in the etiopathology of schizophrenia should be investigated. In this article, we aimed to review (1) major findings regarding neuroinflammation and pro-inflammatory cytokine alterations in schizophrenia, (2) interactions between neuroinflammation and neurogenesis as possible neural substrates for schizophrenia, and (3) novel pharmacological approaches.

Psychotic symptoms are associated with physical health problems independently of a mental disorder diagnosis: results from the WHO World Health Survey

This study explored whether physical health problems are related to psychotic symptoms independently of a mental disorder diagnosis. A total of 224,254 subjects recruited for the World Health Organization World Health Survey were subdivided into those with both a lifetime diagnosis of psychosis and at least one psychotic symptom in the 12 months prior to the evaluation, those with at least one psychotic symptom in the past 12 months but no lifetime diagnosis of psychosis, and those without psychotic symptoms in the past 12 months and without a lifetime diagnosis of psychosis. The three groups were compared for the presence of medical conditions, health problems, and access to health care. Medical conditions and health problems (angina, asthma, arthritis, tuberculosis, vision or hearing problems, mouth/teeth problems, alcohol consumption, smoking, and accidents), medication consumption, and hospital admissions (but not regular health care visits) were more frequent in individuals with psychotic symptoms but no psychosis diagnosis, compared to those with no symptoms and no diagnosis. The number of medical conditions increased with the number of psychotic symptoms. Given the sample analyzed, this trend seems to be independent from the socio-economic development of the country or the specific health care system.

Study of the relationship between human MIF level, MIF-794CATT5-8 microsatellite polymorphism, and susceptibility of tuberculosis in Southwest China

OBJECTIVE

To study the human migration inhibitory factor (MIF) level in tuberculosis (TB) patients, and the relationship between MIF-794CATT microsatellite polymorphism and susceptibility of TB in Southwest China.

METHODS

TB patients (n=151) and healthy unrelated controls (n=149) were recruited for this study. Genomic DNA was extracted, and then amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). MIF-794CATT(5-8) microsatellite polymorphism was genotyped by DNA sequencing. MIF level was detected by ELISA.

RESULTS

In the TB group, the repeat number of 7/7 and 7/8 (17.89%) was significantly higher than that of the control group (8.05%), and the serum MIF level was also much higher than that of the healthy controls (705.21 ± 67.98 vs. 355.31 ± 57.29 pg/mL, p<0.01).

CONCLUSION

The appearance of MIF-794CATT 7/7 and 7/8 is associated with susceptibility to TB, and may play an important role in the occurrence and development of TB in Southwest China.

Aspirin: a review of its neurobiological properties and therapeutic potential for mental illness

There is compelling evidence to support an aetiological role for inflammation, oxidative and nitrosative stress (O&NS), and mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathophysiology of major neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and Alzheimer's disease (AD). These may represent new pathways for therapy. Aspirin is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that is an irreversible inhibitor of both cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2, It stimulates endogenous production of anti-inflammatory regulatory 'braking signals', including lipoxins, which dampen the inflammatory response and reduce levels of inflammatory biomarkers, including C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin (IL)--6, but not negative immunoregulatory cytokines, such as IL-4 and IL-10. Aspirin can reduce oxidative stress and protect against oxidative damage. Early evidence suggests there are beneficial effects of aspirin in preclinical and clinical studies in mood disorders and schizophrenia, and epidemiological data suggests that high-dose aspirin is associated with a reduced risk of AD. Aspirin, one of the oldest agents in medicine, is a potential new therapy for a range of neuropsychiatric disorders, and may provide proof-of-principle support for the role of inflammation and O&NS in the pathophysiology of this diverse group of disorders.

Association of MIF-173G/C and MBL2 codon 54 gene polymorphisms with rheumatoid arthritis: a meta-analysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) -173G/C (rs755622), mannose-binding lectin (MBL2) exon 1 codon 54 (rs1800450) gene polymorphisms and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) susceptibility in ethnically different populations. A meta-analysis was conducted (allelic contrast, the additive model, the dominant model and the recessive model) on the MIF-173G/C polymorphism across five studies (four European and one Asian studies), and the MBL2 codon 54 polymorphism with five studies (four Asian and one European studies), respectively. Meta-analysis indicated an association between the MIF-173G/C in all study subjects in allelic contrast (OR=1.19, 95%CI: 1.05-1.35, P=0.001), the additive model (OR=1.68, 95CI: 1.13-2.49, P=0.001), the dominant model (OR=1.17, 95CI: 1.01-1.35, P=0.003), the recessive model (OR=1.63, 95CI: 1.10-2.42, P=0.001). While stratified by ethnicity with European populations, an association was found in allelic contrast (OR=1.20, 95CI: 1.04-1.38, P=0.002), the additive model (OR=1.85, 95CI: 1.19-2.88, P=0.001), the dominant model (OR=1.20, 95CI: 1.02-1.41, P=0.003). With respect to MBL2 codon 54 polymorphism and RA, no association was found in all study subjects in all comparisons, but there was an association while stratified by ethnicity with Asian populations in the dominant model (OR=1.50, 95CI: 1.01-2.23, P=0.007). In conclusion, the present study suggests that the MIF-173G/C polymorphism is associated with RA susceptibility, but the MBL2 codon 54 polymorphism is not associated with RA.

The strange relationship between diabetes and abdominal aortic aneurysm

In a 1997 report of a large abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening study, we observed a negative association between diabetes and AAA. Although this was not previously described and negative associations between diseases are rare, the credibility of the finding was supported by consistent results in several previous studies and by the absence of an obvious artifactual explanation. Since that time, a variety of studies of AAA diagnosis, both by screening and prospective clinical follow-up, have confirmed the finding. Other studies have reported slower aneurysm enlargement and fewer repairs for rupture in diabetics. The seeming protective effect of diabetes for AAA contrasts with its causal role in occlusive vascular disease and so provides a strong challenge to the traditional view of AAA as a manifestation of atherosclerosis. Research focused on a protective effect of diabetes has already increased our understanding of the etiology of AAA, and might eventually pave the way for new therapies to slow AAA progression.

Schizophrenia: medical illness, mortality, and aging

OBJECTIVE

Schizophrenia is a devastating and common psychiatric disorder which is associated with a high degree of medical morbidity and reduced life span in addition to psychosis. In this article, these problems will be discussed in the context of schizophrenia and aging.

METHOD

The recent literature was reviewed using Pubmed, Medline, and Google scholar with the search terms "schizophrenia, aging, medical problems."

RESULTS

Schizophrenia is associated with significant medical morbidity and mortality. Diabètes and cardiovascular disease, along with smoking and obesity, are over-represented and contribute to reduced quality of life and life span. Schizophrenics often receive poor medical care.

CONCLUSIONS

The impacts of schizophrenia on physical health and successful aging have been underestimated. Psychiatrists and primary care physicians need to address the overlapping medical and psychiatric aspects of the disorder while the medical care system for these patients requires a much higher degree of coordination than is currently available.

Analysis of MIF, FCGR2A and FCGR3A gene polymorphisms with susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis in Moroccan population

In order to investigate the influence of functional polymorphisms of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), Fcg receptors CD16A (FCGR3A) and CD32A (FCGR2A) genes on susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in the Moroccan population, we analyzed 123 patients with PTB and 154 healthy controls. The genotyping for MIF-173 (G/C) (rs755622), FCGR2A-131H/R (rs1801274) and FCGR3A-158V/F (rs396991) was carried out using TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assay method. We found a statistically significant increase of the MIF -173CC homozygote genotype and MIF -173*C allele frequencies in PTB patients compared with healthy controls (17.07%versus 5.84%, P = 0.003; and 35.37%versus 26.30%, P = 0.02; respectively). In contrast, no association was observed between FCGR2A-131H/R and FCGR3A-158V/F polymorphisms and tuberculosis disease. Our finding suggests that MIF -173*C variant may play an important role in the development of active tuberculosis.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor gene: influence on rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility

The macrophage inhibitory factor (MIF) is a cytokine that has been implicated in several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, glomerulonephritis, and multiple sclerosis. In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), results ranging from lack of association of MIF polymorphisms with RA, to involvement in either severity or susceptibility to the disease have been reported in the past. We aimed at investigating the role of this gene in RA in the Spanish population. Two well-known MIF promoter polymorphisms were tested in 606 adult RA patients and 886 healthy controls: a single nucleotide polymorphism at -173G/C and a tetranucleotide repeat (CATT)(5-8) located at -794. We found a significant association of the allele -173C with RA (p = 0.01; odds ratio [OR] = 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06-1.62). The -173C risk allele, previously reported to be transmitted in excess in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, was significantly more frequent in early-onset adult RA patients than in healthy controls (p = 0.003; OR = 1.57; 95% CI = 1.14-2.15), whereas late-onset patients were not significantly different to controls (p = 0.6; OR = 1.09; 95% CI = 0.77-1.55). In conclusion, the -173C allele in the MIF promoter region is associated with increased RA predisposition, mainly in early-onset patients.