Elevated Maternal Interleukin-8 Levels and Risk of Schizophrenia in Adult Offspring

• DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.161.5.889
• Publication Date: 2004-05-01T01:14:32Z
• Authors: Alan S. Brown; Jonathan Hooton; Catherine A. Scha...; Haiying Zhang; Eva Petkova; Vicki Babulas; Megan Perrin; Jack M. Gorman; Ezra S. Susser
• Keywords: Etiology

OBJECTIVE: Many studies have implicated prenatal infection in the etiology of schizophrenia. Cytokines, a family soluble polypeptides, are critically important immune response to and other inflammatory processes. The goal this study was determine whether second-trimester levels four cytokines—interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)—are higher mothers offspring who later developed schizophrenia spectrum disorders than matched comparison subjects. METHOD: authors conducted nested case-control maternal serum cytokine large birth cohort, born 1959–1967. Cases (N=59) were subjects diagnosed with (mostly schizoaffective disorder) had available samples. Comparison (N=105) members not been disorder or major affective disorder, for date birth, gender, length time availability sera. Maternal IL-8, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α determined by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: IL-8 significantly those There no differences between respect TNF-α. CONCLUSIONS: Using prospectively collected sera well-characterized documented significant association level during second trimester risk offspring. These findings provide further support substantive role utero inflammation Moreover, these results may implications elucidating mechanisms which disrupted fetal development raises disorder.