Stem cells derived from patients with schizophrenia had significantly reduced rates of protein synthesis compared with the cells of healthy controls, reported Dr. J.A. English and coauthors in the department of psychiatry at University College Dublin School of Biomolecular & Biomedical Science in Ireland.
Analysis of olfactory neurosphere-derived cells in both groups found that rates of protein synthesis were significantly lower in schizophrenia patient-derived cells, compared with controls.
The findings “provide important evidence that disturbed protein synthesis is associated with schizophrenia and could contribute to the development of the disorder,” Dr. English and colleagues said in the paper. “These data point to the dysregulation of protein synthesis in schizophrenia and suggest new molecular targets for intervention.”
Read the article in Translational Psychiatry (doi: 10.1038/tp.2015.119).