Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Nov 2022)
Serum NOX1 and Raftlin as New Potential Biomarkers of Interest in Schizophrenia: A Preliminary Study
Abstract
Onur Hurşitoğlu,1 Ergul Belge Kurutas,2 Rebecca Strawbridge,3 Omer Faruk Uygur,4 Emrah Yildiz,5 Thomas J Reilly6 1Department of Psychiatry, Sular Academy Hospital, Kahramanmaras, Turkey; 2Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, Kahramanmaras, Turkey; 3Centre for Affective Disorders, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK; 4Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey; 5Private Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, Gaziantep, Turkey; 6Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UKCorrespondence: Onur Hurşitoğlu, Department of Psychiatry, Sular Academy Hospital, Kahramanmaras, 46100, Turkey, Tel +90 507 420 68 03, Email [email protected]: There is increasing evidence that oxidative stress (OS) and neuroinflammation play a role in the neuroprogression of schizophrenia (SCZ). Promising novel candidates which have been proposed in the search for biomarkers of psychotic illness include NADPH oxidase 1,2 (NOX1,2) and raftlin. NOX1 from the NOX family is the main source of physiological reactive oxygen species (ROS) and raftlin, the main lipid raft protein, is associated with inflammatory processes. The aim of the present study was to evaluate serum NOX1 and raftlin levels in chronic stable patients with SCZ.Methods: We measured serum NOX1 and raftlin levels from 45 clinically stable patients with SCZ and 45 healthy controls (HCs) matched for age, sex, and body-mass index. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale was applied to the patient group to evaluate the severity of psychotic symptoms.Results: NOX1 and raftlin levels in the patients were statistically significantly higher than the HCs (NOX1 p< 0.001, raftlin p< 0.001). Both parameters showed very good diagnostic performance (NOX1 AUC = 0.931, raftlin AUC = 0.915). We obtained positive and significant correlations between serum levels of both biomarkers and symptom severity.Discussion: This preliminary study indicating elevations in serum NOX1 and raftlin levels in patients with SCZ supports the importance of OS and inflammatory processes in the etiopathogenesis of the illness.Keywords: oxidative stress, oxidant, neuroinflammation, reactive oxygen species, lipid raft, diagnostic performance
