Highlights
- •Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) is a peliotropic growth factor, important in neuronal development and functions.
- •Altered function of NRG1 and its receptor ErbB4 may contribute the pathogenesis of Schizophrenia.
- •Shizophrenia and autism may have common pathogenic mechanisms.
- •This study found that peripheric NRG1 levels is increased in ASD patients.
- •NRG1 may play a role in ASD pathogenesis.
Abstract
Though schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are separate diseases, they
have some common clinical manifestations and common pathogenic mechanisms. Numerous
genes are associated with these conditions. Among these genes, Neuregulin-1 forms
a risk for schizophrenia and some studies have shown polymorphism of this gene accompanies
schizophrenia. NRG1 has a wide variety of functions, including neuronal migration,
axon guidance, synaptic transmission, oligodendroglial maturation, and neurite outgrowth.
To date, NRG1 levels have not been researched in ASD patients and considering the
neurodevelopmental effects of NRG1, this study aimed to research the peripheral NRG1
levels in ASD patients. The study compared 32 ASD patients and 32 healthy controls.
Serum NRG-1 levels were measured with ELISA. In ASD patients (mean ± SD, 10.80 ± 4.78 ng/ml),
the NRG1 levels were found to be statistically significantly high compared to the
health control group (mean ± SD, 6.92 ± 4.91 ng/ml) (p = 0.004). According to the
results we obtained, NRG1 was shown to play a possible role in ASD pathogenesis. There
is a need for advanced studies on the possible role of NRG1 in ASD patients. This
study is significant as it is the first study to measure peripheral NRG1 in ASD patients.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 24, 2018
Accepted:
August 13,
2018
Received:
April 11,
2018
Footnotes
☆Note: This study was presented as an oral presentation at 10th International Congress on Psychopharmacology & 6th International Symposium on Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology April 25–29, 2018 in Gloria Congress Venue, Antalya, Turkey.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
