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Identification of a biological signature for schizophrenia in serum

Molecular Psychiatry volume 17, pages 494–502 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

Biomarkers are now used in many areas of medicine but are still lacking for psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia (SCZ). We have used a multiplex molecular profiling approach to measure serum concentrations of 181 proteins and small molecules in 250 first and recent onset SCZ, 35 major depressive disorder (MDD), 32 euthymic bipolar disorder (BPD), 45 Asperger syndrome and 280 control subjects. Preliminary analysis resulted in identification of a signature comprised of 34 analytes in a cohort of closely matched SCZ (n=71) and control (n=59) subjects. Partial least squares discriminant analysis using this signature gave a separation of 60–75% of SCZ subjects from controls across five independent cohorts. The same analysis also gave a separation of ∼50% of MDD patients and 10–20% of BPD and Asperger syndrome subjects from controls. These results demonstrate for the first time that a biological signature for SCZ can be identified in blood serum. This study lays the groundwork for development of a diagnostic test that can be used as an aid for distinguishing SCZ subjects from healthy controls and from those affected by related psychiatric illnesses with overlapping symptoms.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Stanley Medical Research Institute (SMRI), Psynova Neurotech and the European Union FP7 SchizDX research programme (grant reference 223427). We want to thank Anke Dudeck, Jeanette Schadow, Dr Wolfgang Jordan, Dr Bernd Hahndorf, Dr Florian Kästner, Dr Anya Pedersen, Dr Ansgar Siegmund, Dr Katja Kölkebeck, Torsten Schoenborn, Dr Christoph W Gerth, Dr Christian Mauss, Dr Brit M Nolden, Dr MA Neatby, Dr Liliana Ruta and Dr Erin Ingudomnukul for their participation in sample characterization and collection. Thanks to all members of the Bahn Laboratory for discussions, help and encouragement. Most of all, thanks to all patients and healthy volunteers for their selfless donation of samples used in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    E Schwarz, P C Guest, H Rahmoune, L W Harris, L Wang & S Bahn

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    F M Leweke, D Koethe & L Kranaster

  3. Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany

    F M Leweke, D Koethe & L Kranaster

  4. Department of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany

    M Rothermundt, P Ohrmann & T Suslow

  5. Department of Psychiatry, University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany

    B Bogerts & J Steiner

  6. Psynova Neurotech Ltd, Cambridge, UK

    G McAllister

  7. Rules-Based Medicine, Inc., Austin, TX, USA

    M Spain & A Barnes

  8. Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus University, Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    N J M van Beveren

  9. Department of Psychiatry, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    S Baron-Cohen

  10. The Stanley Medical Research Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA

    F E Torrey & R H Yolken

  11. Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    S Bahn

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  1. E Schwarz
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  14. M Spain
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  15. A Barnes
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  18. J Steiner
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Correspondence to S Bahn.

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Schwarz, E., Guest, P., Rahmoune, H. et al. Identification of a biological signature for schizophrenia in serum. Mol Psychiatry 17, 494–502 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2011.42

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