Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Sep 2024)
Circulating Cell-Free Mitochondrial DNA in Plasma of Individuals with Schizophrenia and Cognitive Deficit in Mexican Population
Abstract
Dulce Dajheanne Garcia-de la Cruz,1,2 Isela Esther Juarez-Rojop,2 Carlos Alfonso Tovilla-Zarate,3 Humberto Nicolini,4 Alma Delia Genis-Mendoza4,5 1Unidad de Enseñanza e Investigación, Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad de Salud Mental Villahermosa, Tabasco, México; 2Laboratorio de Metabolismo de Lípidos, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, División Académica de Ciencias de la Salud, Villahermosa, Tabasco, México; 3Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, División Académica Multidisciplinaria de Comalcalco, Tabasco, México; 4Laboratorio de Genómica de las Enfermedades Psiquiátricas y Neurodegenerativas, Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica, Ciudad de México, México; 5Hospital Psiquiátrico Infantil, Dr. Juan N. Navarro, Ciudad de México, MéxicoCorrespondence: Alma Delia Genis-Mendoza, Email [email protected]: Cognitive domains are affected in patients with schizophrenia. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been proposed as a possible origin of these symptoms. Cell-free mitochondrial DNA (cf-mtDNA) is an indicator of cellular stress, and it can be identified in individuals with age-associated disorders, this study aimed to explore the presence of cf-mtDNA in plasma of schizophrenia patients and its association with cognitive deficit.Patients and Methods: Ninety-nine subjects were clinically evaluated; the case group included 60 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 39 randomly-individuals without psychiatric disorders were included in the comparison group. Cognitive status (MoCA scale) and cell-free mtDNA in blood plasma were assessed and quantified in both groups.Results: From the original sample, cf-mtDNA was identified in 43 subjects, 40 patients with schizophrenia and 3 controls (&KHgr;2 = 31.10, p-value < 0.0001). Thirty-nine out of forty patients with schizophrenia had a cognitive deficit.Conclusion: According to our findings, cognitive impairment and presence of cf-mtDNA were related in subjects with schizophrenia. Thus, while the cognitive deficit might reflect an accelerated aging process, the cf-mtDNA plays a role as a potential biomarker in this mechanism.Keywords: schizophrenia, cell free mitochondrial DNA, cognitive impairment, mitochondrial dysfunction