Decreased neuregulin1β1 in first episode and drug-naïve patients with schizophrenia: Negative correlation with cognitive impairment

• Published in: Psychiatry research Vol. 304; p. 114164
• Main Authors: Yang, Haidong, Xiao, Wenhuan, Yang, Man, Wang, Yili, Zhang, Xiaobin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.10.2021
• Subjects: Cognitive function; Neuregulin-1; Neurotrophic factor; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia; Neuregulin-1; Neurotrophic factor; Cognitive function
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114164

•There is much evidence demonstrated that NRG1β1 may be involved in schizophrenia and its cognitive impairment.•Serum Neuregulin1β1 levels were found to be lower in first episode and drug-naïve patients with schizophrenia as compared with healthy controls.•Moreover, the serum Neuregulin1β1 was significantly negatively correlated with cognitive impairment.•Our results suggest that NRG1β1 may be involved in the mechanisms underlying cognitive function in first-episode and drug-naïve patients with schizophrenia, and that it may contribute to the pathology of cognitive deficits. Neuregulin1β1 (NRG1β1) is essential for neuronal migration during development and for the ongoing neural plasticity underlying cognitive function. This study investigated the relationship between cognitive impairment and serum NRG1β1 concentration in first-episode drug-naïve (FEDN) patients with schizophrenia. We measured serum NRG1β1 from 65 FEDN schizophrenia patients and 67 healthy matched controls. Cognitive function was evaluated using the Hopkins Vocabulary Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R), Verbal Fluency Test (VFT), Trail Making Test (TMT), Digit Span Test (DST), and Stroop Test. Serum NRG1β1 concentration was significantly lower in the FEDN patient group than the control group (7.25±0.49 vs. 12.52±0.77 ng/mL; F=23.716, P<0.0001, Cohen's d=1.00). Further, serum NRG1β1 concentration in FEDN schizophrenia patients was negatively correlated with TMT-part A score (r=-0.408, P=0.001) and positively correlated with Stroop color subtest score (r=0.246, P=0.048). Multiple regression analysis also revealed weak correlations among FEDN patients between TMT-part A score and both serum NRG1β1 concentration (R2=0.116, F=8.235, P=0.011) and duration of untreated psychosis (R2=0.193, F=5.969, P=0.017). This preliminary study suggests that serum NRG1β1 levels are reduced in FEDN patients with schizophrenia and that NRG1β1 may be involved in the cognitive function.