The SHP-1 expression is associated with cytokines and psychopathological status in unmedicated first episode schizophrenia patients.

BACKGROUND: Recent lines of research have boosted awareness of the immunological facets of schizophrenia. However, associations with protein tyrosine phosphatase regulators have never been reported. The aim of our study was to investigate the expression and promoter status methylation of phosphatase SHP-1, a key negative regulator of the inflammatory process, in Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of Schizophrenic patients. METHODS: We enrolled fifty-four (28 men and 26 women) unmedicated first episode subjects (SC) who met DSM-IV and thirty-eight (22 men and 16 women) healthy controls (HC). The SC psychopathological status was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. We evaluated SHP-1 expression by Quantitative Real-time PCR (qPCR) and Western blotting (WB) methods and promoter status methylation through PCR bisulfate. IKK/NFkB signaling was detected by WB, and medium and plasma levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-2, and TNF-α) by the ELISA method. SHP-1 was silenced by treating cells with specific siRNA. RESULTS: We found a significantly lower level of SHP-1 gene expression in PBMCs from SC vs. HC, consistently with which the promoter region analyzed presented significant hypermethylation. Silencing of SHP-1 expression induced higher activation of IKK/NF-kB signaling and pro-inflammatory cytokine production in ex vivo PBMCs from both SC and HC. Linear regression among patients generated a model in which SHP-1 expression explained 30% of the clinical negative symptom variance (adjusted R(2)=0.30, ANOVA p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings are the first to suggest that impairment of SHP-1 expression is involved in the physiopathology of schizophrenia, opening fruitful new avenues for ameliorating treatment at least of negative symptoms.

Endometrial tuberculosis: a clinical case.

Genital tuberculosis is a bacterial infection still frequent in less developed countries where lots of cases are not diagnosed nor treated. In this work we describe a rare case of primary endometrial tuberculosis in a woman of 50 years old. The diagnosis was confirmed by an ultrasonography of the pelvis and an endometrial biopsy followed by a histological examination. The patient after the diagnosis was put under antiturbecular treatment for six months with complete healing.

The plasmatic and salivary levels of IL-1ß, IL-18 and IL-6 are associated to emotional difference during stress in young male.

Saliva collection is considered a non-invasive method to detect inflammatory markers in response to emotional states within natural social contexts. Numerous studies have prompted an important role of cytokines in modulating distinct aspects of social and emotional behavior. The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of plasma and saliva as investigative tools for measure some inflammatory marker levels (CRP, IL-1ß, IL-18, and IL-6). At the same time, the relationships between these markers and emotional states in response to a socio-cognitive stress (Academic Exam, AE), were considered. It was demonstrated that the plasma and saliva concentrations of all immune-mediators analyzed were significantly related across the socio-cognitive stress. In addition, when there was a close correlation to AE, the anger state, the IL-1ß, the IL-18 salivary and plasmatic concentrations were significantly higher, while they decreased during the AE. On the other hand, the anxiety state and the IL-6 levels significantly increased throughout the AE. The IL-1ß and IL-6 were positively associated to the anger and the anxiety state, respectively. In conclusion, our data highlight that different immune markers are similarly detectable in plasma and saliva during socio-cognitive stress. Also, they could be related to different emotional responses.

Super-oxide anion production and antioxidant enzymatic activities associated with the executive functions in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy adult samples.

Executive Functions (EFs) involve a set of high cognitive abilities impairment which have been successfully related to a redox omeostasis imbalance in several psychiatric disorders. Firstly, we aimed to investigate the relationship between executive functioning and some oxidative metabolism parameters in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) from healthy adult samples. The Brown Attention-Deficit Disorder Scales were administered to assess five specific facets of executive functioning. Total superoxide anion production, Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), Glutathione Reductase (GR) and Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) activities were evaluated on proteins extracted from the PBMCs. We found significant positive correlations between superoxide anion production and the total score of the 'Brown' Scale and some of its clusters. The GPx and CAT activities were negatively associated with the total score and some clusters. In a linear regression analysis, these biological variables were indicated as the most salient predictors of the total score, explaining the 24% variance (adjusted R(2)=0.24, ANOVA, p<.001). This study provides novel evidence that Executive Functions have underpinnings in the oxidative metabolism, as ascertained in healthy subjects.