Reduced levels of circulating adhesion molecules in adolescents with early-onset psychosis

Kirsten Wedervang-Resell; Thor Ueland; Pål Aukrust; Svein Friis; Kirsten B Holven; Cecilie H Johannessen; Tove Lekva; Vera Lonning; Runar E Smelror; Attila Szabo; Ole A Andreassen; Anne M Myhre; Ingrid Agartz

doi:10.1038/s41537-020-00112-5

Reduced levels of circulating adhesion molecules in adolescents with early-onset psychosis

NPJ Schizophr. 2020 Aug 18;6(1):20. doi: 10.1038/s41537-020-00112-5.

Authors

Kirsten Wedervang-Resell^{1

2}, Thor Ueland^{3

4

5}, Pål Aukrust^{3

5

6}, Svein Friis^{7

5}, Kirsten B Holven⁸, Cecilie H Johannessen⁹, Tove Lekva³, Vera Lonning^{9

10}, Runar E Smelror^{9

10}, Attila Szabo⁹, Ole A Andreassen^{9

7}, Anne M Myhre^{7

11}, Ingrid Agartz^{9

10

12}

Affiliations

¹ NORMENT Center of Excellence, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. kirsten.wedervang-resell@medisin.uio.no.
² Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Department of Psychiatric Research and Development, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. kirsten.wedervang-resell@medisin.uio.no.
³ Research Institute of Internal Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway.
⁴ K.G. Jebsen Thrombosis Research and Expertise Center, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway.
⁵ Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
⁶ Section of Clinical Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway.
⁷ Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Department of Psychiatric Research and Development, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
⁸ Department of Nutrition, Institute for Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, PO Box 1046, Blindern, 0317, Oslo, Norway.
⁹ NORMENT Center of Excellence, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
¹⁰ Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
¹¹ Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
¹² Centre for Psychiatric Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Abstract

It is suggested that neurodevelopmental abnormalities are involved in the disease mechanisms of psychotic disorders. Although cellular adhesion molecules (CAMs) participate in neurodevelopment, modulate blood-brain barrier permeability, and facilitate leukocyte migration, findings concerning their systemic levels in adults with psychosis are inconsistent. We examined plasma levels and mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of selected CAMs in adolescents with early-onset psychosis (EOP) aged 12-18 years (n = 37) and age-matched healthy controls (HC) (n = 68). EOP patients exhibited significantly lower circulating levels of soluble platelet selectin (~-22%) and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (~-14%) than HC. We found no significant associations with symptom severity. PSEL mRNA expression was increased in PBMCs of patients and significantly negatively correlated to duration of illness. These findings suggest a role for CAMs in the pathophysiology of psychotic disorders.