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BackgroundImmune dysfunction, including monocytosis and increased blood levels of interleukin-1, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor α has been observed during acute episodes of major depression. These peripheral immune processes may be accompanied by microglial activation in subregions of the anterior cingulate cortex where depression-associated alterations of glutamatergic neurotransmission have been described.MethodsMicroglial immunoreactivity of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor agonist quinolinic acid (QUIN) in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sACC), anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) and pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC) of 12 acutely depressed suicidal patients (major depressive disorder/MDD, n = 7; bipolar disorder/BD, n = 5) was analyzed using immunohistochemistry and compared with its expression in 10 healthy control subjects.ResultsDepressed patients had a significantly increased density of QUIN-positive cells in the sACC (P = 0.003) and the aMCC (P = 0.015) compared to controls. In contrast, counts of QUIN-positive cells in the pACC did not differ between the groups (P = 0.558). Post-hoc tests showed that significant findings were attributed to MDD and were absent in BD.ConclusionsThese results add a novel link to the immune hypothesis of depression by providing evidence for an upregulation of microglial QUIN in brain regions known to be responsive to infusion of NMDA antagonists such as ketamine. Further work in this area could lead to a greater understanding of the pathophysiology of depressive disorders and pave the way for novel NMDA receptor therapies or immune-modulating strategies.

Dopamine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter involved in the pathology of schizophrenia. The revised dopamine hypothesis states that dopamine abnormalities in the mesolimbic and prefrontal brain regions exist in schizophrenia. However, recent research has indicated that glutamate, GABA, acetylcholine, and serotonin alterations are also involved in the pathology of schizophrenia. This review provides an in-depth analysis of dopamine in animal models of schizophrenia and also focuses on dopamine and cognition. Furthermore, this review provides not only an overview of dopamine receptors and the antipsychotic effects of treatments targeting them but also an outline of dopamine and its interaction with other neurochemical models of schizophrenia. The roles of dopamine in the evolution of the human brain and human mental abilities, which are affected in schizophrenia patients, are also discussed.

Our anatomical data argue against prominent structural alterations of the habenular nuclei in schizophrenia but demonstrate robust alterations in depressive patients. We are currently applying immunohistochemical markers to better characterize neuronal subpopulations of this brain region in schizophrenia and depression.

Immunological alterations have been demonstrated in peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with schizophrenia, while previous postmortem studies have provided an inconsistent picture as to the role of microglia in the context of schizophrenia. Microglial activation is a sensitive indicator of changes in the CNS microenvironment, such as inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes. The aim of the present postmortem study was to examine HLA class II (HLA-DR) expression on microglia in brain regions which are particularly relevant for schizophrenia, with regard to hemispheric lateralization. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), hippocampus and mediodorsal thalamus (MD) were studied in 16 cases with schizophrenia and 16 control subjects. Immunostaining was found in all brain regions and was not restricted to macrophage-like ameboid cells, but also appeared in ramified cells. Region-specific HLA-DR-positive cell density was not significantly different between cases with schizophrenia and controls. However, ameboid microglial cells were lateralized towards the right hemisphere in healthy subjects but not in the schizophrenia group (P=0.01). Postmortem interval correlated with ramified cell numbers in ACC/DLPFC (P=0.01/0.04) and ameboid cell density in hippocampus (P=0.03). Age, gender, duration of disease, medication dosage, storage delay and whole brain volume had no effect. Single case analysis revealed highly elevated microglial cell numbers in ACC and MD of two schizophrenic patients who had committed suicide during acute psychosis. In conclusion, the present data suggest the absence of microgliosis but decreased cerebral lateralization of ameboid microglia in schizophrenia.