TY - JOUR
T1 - Soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels correlated with positive symptoms during quetiapine treatment in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders
AU - Igue, Raouf
AU - Potvin, Stéphane
AU - Bah, Ramatoulaye
AU - Stip, Emmanuel
AU - Bouchard, Roch Hugo
AU - Lipp, Olivier
AU - Gendron, Alain
AU - Kouassi, Edouard
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported in part by an operating grant, MOP-67183 from CIHR , a catalyst grant, CSU-105837 from CIHR, and an academic research partnership funded by AstraZeneca .
Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the expert assistance of Donald Gagné from Dr. Bar-Or's laboratory with the Luminex instrument at the Montreal Neurological Institute. ES is holder of the Eli Lilly Chair on Schizophrenia from the University of Montreal. SP is holder of a Junior 1 scholarship from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec .
PY - 2011/8/15
Y1 - 2011/8/15
N2 - Background: Some but not all antipsychotics have been shown to modulate plasma cytokine levels in schizophrenia patients. Thus far, the most consistent finding has been the increase in plasma levels of soluble interleukin (IL)-2 receptor (sIL-2R) associated with clozapine treatment. Quetiapine is a second-generation antipsychotic with a pharmacological profile similar to that of clozapine, but its immunomodulatory effects have not been investigated in schizophrenia yet. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the changes in plasma levels of sIL-2R in schizophrenia during quetiapine treatment and association with psychopathology. Methods: Participants were 29 schizophrenia-spectrum disorder patients (DSM-IV criteria), and 28 healthy controls. Patients had a comorbid substance use disorder (cannabis > alcohol > cocaine), since quetiapine is increasingly used in this population of dual diagnosis. No participant suffered from infection or overt inflammatory diseases. On baseline, patients taking mostly second-generation antipsychotics were switched to quetiapine for a 12-week open-label trial. Five patients were drop-outs. Mean dose of quetiapine for trial completers (n = 24) was 466.6. mg ± 227.3. Psychiatric variables were evaluated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia. Plasma sIL-2R levels were assessed at baseline, weeks 6 and 12 in patients, and in healthy controls, using sandwich immunoassay. Plasma IL-6 and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) were measured for comparison purposes. Results: On baseline, plasma sIL-2R, IL-6 and IL-1RA levels were higher in dual-diagnosis patients, compared to controls. Plasma sIL-2R further increased after quetiapine treatment (p = 0.037), while plasma IL-6 and IL-1RA did not change. Clinical improvements were observed in positive, negative and depressive symptoms, and substance abuse severity (all p < 0.01). Interestingly, changes in sIL-2R levels during treatment were inversely correlated with changes in positive symptoms (r = -0.524; p = 0.009). That is, increases in sIL-2R levels were associated with reductions in positive symptoms. Conclusion: These data show that quetiapine elevates, like clozapine, sIL-2R levels in schizophrenia. Furthermore, the results suggest that sIL-2R alterations in schizophrenia rely on complex interplays between antipsychotics and the positive symptoms of the disorder. Future randomized controlled trials involving larger samples of schizophrenia patients are warranted to determine whether changes in plasma sIL-2R are quetiapine-related.
AB - Background: Some but not all antipsychotics have been shown to modulate plasma cytokine levels in schizophrenia patients. Thus far, the most consistent finding has been the increase in plasma levels of soluble interleukin (IL)-2 receptor (sIL-2R) associated with clozapine treatment. Quetiapine is a second-generation antipsychotic with a pharmacological profile similar to that of clozapine, but its immunomodulatory effects have not been investigated in schizophrenia yet. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the changes in plasma levels of sIL-2R in schizophrenia during quetiapine treatment and association with psychopathology. Methods: Participants were 29 schizophrenia-spectrum disorder patients (DSM-IV criteria), and 28 healthy controls. Patients had a comorbid substance use disorder (cannabis > alcohol > cocaine), since quetiapine is increasingly used in this population of dual diagnosis. No participant suffered from infection or overt inflammatory diseases. On baseline, patients taking mostly second-generation antipsychotics were switched to quetiapine for a 12-week open-label trial. Five patients were drop-outs. Mean dose of quetiapine for trial completers (n = 24) was 466.6. mg ± 227.3. Psychiatric variables were evaluated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia. Plasma sIL-2R levels were assessed at baseline, weeks 6 and 12 in patients, and in healthy controls, using sandwich immunoassay. Plasma IL-6 and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) were measured for comparison purposes. Results: On baseline, plasma sIL-2R, IL-6 and IL-1RA levels were higher in dual-diagnosis patients, compared to controls. Plasma sIL-2R further increased after quetiapine treatment (p = 0.037), while plasma IL-6 and IL-1RA did not change. Clinical improvements were observed in positive, negative and depressive symptoms, and substance abuse severity (all p < 0.01). Interestingly, changes in sIL-2R levels during treatment were inversely correlated with changes in positive symptoms (r = -0.524; p = 0.009). That is, increases in sIL-2R levels were associated with reductions in positive symptoms. Conclusion: These data show that quetiapine elevates, like clozapine, sIL-2R levels in schizophrenia. Furthermore, the results suggest that sIL-2R alterations in schizophrenia rely on complex interplays between antipsychotics and the positive symptoms of the disorder. Future randomized controlled trials involving larger samples of schizophrenia patients are warranted to determine whether changes in plasma sIL-2R are quetiapine-related.
KW - Positive symptoms
KW - Quetiapine
KW - Schizophrenia
KW - Soluble interleukin-2 receptor
KW - Substance use disorders
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79961128129&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79961128129&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2011.05.011
DO - 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2011.05.011
M3 - Article
C2 - 21627977
AN - SCOPUS:79961128129
SN - 0278-5846
VL - 35
SP - 1695
EP - 1698
JO - Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
JF - Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
IS - 7
ER -