Abstract Details

Title A Preliminary Report on Alpha 7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Expression in the Hippocampus of Patients with Schizophrenia

Topic Aging, Dementia, and Behavioral Neurology

Presentation(s) P5 - Poster Session 5 (8:00 AM-9:00 AM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 3-009

Objective We compared the expression profiles of alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7nAChR) in the hippocampus and surrounding cortex between patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) and age-matched controls (CTRL).

Background SCZ is a psychiatric condition characterized by disruptions in cognition, social activity, affect, and perception, and it has a poorly understood pathophysiology. Previous studies have shown that the α7nAChR in the hippocampus can be associated with auditory sensory gating and cognitive function. Variations in these processes have been linked to auditory hallucinations experienced by patients with SCZ. We have identified a need to directly measure α7nAChR expression in the hippocampus and surrounding cortex of patients with SCZ as there have been very few recent reports on this subject. Notably, earlier reports were based on indirect methods and/or failed to provide conclusive data.

Design/Methods We used an immunohistochemistry (IHC) technique to assess α7nAChR expression directly. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded postmortem brain sections from the hippocampus and surrounding cortex from patients with SCZ (n=19) and CTRL (n=24) were probed with anti-α7nAChR antibodies. The stained sections were scanned on an Aperio Slide Scanner at 20X (Leica BIOSYSTEMS), and the area of the sections demonstrating immunoreactivity over the entire section, Percent Total Positive (PTP) immunoreactivity, was determined for each section and used for comparison.

Results Neurons and neuropil in the hippocampus and cortex demonstrated selective α7nAChR expression in both SCZ and CTRL. However, when we compared α7nAChR immunoreactivity, PTP, between the SCZ and CTRL, the SCZ group showed significantly increased α7nAChR expression (p=0.0406).

Conclusions Elevated α7nAChR expression in patients with SCZ could be a part of the damage response initiated by the pathophysiological changes related to SCZ. Since our results contradict some earlier reports, future studies comprising a larger sample size are proposed for conclusively determining the α7nAChR expression profile in the context of SCZ pathogenesis.

Authors/Disclosures
Shruti Varshney PRESENTER	Miss Varshney has nothing to disclose.
Minjal Patel	Miss Patel has nothing to disclose.
Ananya Nethikunta	Ms. Nethikunta has nothing to disclose.
Mary Kosciuk, PhD	Dr. Kosciuk has received personal compensation for serving as an employee of Rowan UniversitySOM.
randel swanson, DO, PhD	The institution of Dr. swanson has received research support from NIH. The institution of Dr. swanson has received research support from DoD. The institution of Dr. swanson has received research support from VA.
Venkat Venkataraman, PhD	Prof. Venkataraman has nothing to disclose.
Robert G. Nagele, PhD	Dr. Nagele has received personal compensation in the range of $100,000-$499,999 for serving as a Consultant for Durin Life Sciences. Dr. Nagele has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as an officer or member of the Board of Directors for Durin Life Sciences. Dr. Nagele has stock in Durin Life Sciences.
Eric L. Goldwaser, DO, PhD	Dr. Goldwaser has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for LivaNova. The institution of Dr. Goldwaser has received research support from NIMH. The institution of Dr. Goldwaser has received research support from BBRF. Dr. Goldwaser has received personal compensation in the range of $0-$499 for serving as a Scientific Reviewer with NIH. Dr. Goldwaser has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Scientific Reviewer with Dept of Defense.
Nimish Acharya, PhD	Dr. Acharya has nothing to disclose.

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