Peripheral blood lymphocytes are an attractive tool because there is accumulating evidence indicating that lymphocytes may be utilized as a biomarker in the field of psychiatric study as they could reveal the condition of cells distributed in the brain. Here, we measured the mRNA expression status of dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2), DRD3, and dopamine and cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate regulated phosphoprotein-32 (DARPP-32) in T lymphocytes of patients with early psychosis by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) and explored the relationships between their mRNA levels and the psychopathological status of patients. The present study demonstrated that the mRNA expression levels of DRD3 in T lymphocytes were significantly different among controls, and in patients with psychotic disorder not otherwise specified (NOS) and schizophrenia/schizophreniform disorder. However, no significant differences in mRNA expression levels of DRD2 and DARPP-32 were found among the three groups. We found a significant positive correlation between the DRD2 mRNA level and the score of the excited factor of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) in patients with schizophrenia/schizophreniform disorder. These findings suggest that DRD3 mRNA levels may serve as a potential diagnostic biomarker differentiating patients with early psychosis from controls.

BackgroundChronic social defeat stress induces depression and anxiety-like behaviors in rodents and also responsible for differentiating defeated animals into stress susceptible and resilient groups. The present study investigated the effects of social defeat stress on a variety of behavioral parameters like social behavior, spatial learning and memory and anxiety like behaviors. Additionally, the levels of various dopaminergic markers, including the long and short form of the D2 receptor, and total and phosphorylated dopamine and cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate regulated phosphoprotein-32, and proteins involved in intracellular trafficking were assessed in several key brain regions in young adult mice.MethodsMouse model of chronic social defeat was established by resident-intruder paradigm, and to evaluate the effect of chronic social defeat, mice were subjected to behavioral tests like spontaneous locomotor activity, elevated plus maze (EPM), social interaction and Morris water maze tests.ResultsMice were divided into susceptible and unsusceptible groups after 10 days of social defeat stress. The susceptible group exhibited greater decreases in time spent in the open and closed arms compared to the control group on the EPM. In the social interaction test, the susceptible group showed greater increases in submissive and neutral behaviors and greater decreases in social behaviors relative to baseline compared to the control group. Furthermore, increased expression of D2L, D2S, Rab4, and G protein-coupled receptor associated sorting protein-1 was observed in the amygdala of the susceptible group compared to the control group.ConclusionThese findings suggest that social defeat stress induce anxiety-like and altered social interacting behaviors, and changes in dopaminergic markers and intracellular trafficking-related proteins.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12993-018-0148-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Liver cancer is one of the most common cancers and the top leading cause of cancer death globally. However, the molecular mechanisms of liver tumorigenesis and progression remain unclear. In the current study, we investigated the hub genes and the potential molecular pathways through which these genes contribute to liver cancer onset and development. The weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WCGNA) was performed on the main data attained from the GEO (Gene Expression Omnibus) database. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset was used to evaluate the association between prognosis and these hub genes. The expression of genes from the black module was found to be significantly related to liver cancer. Based on the results of protein–protein interaction, gene co-expression network, and survival analyses, DNA topoisomerase II alpha (TOP2A), ribonucleotide reductase regulatory subunit M2 (RRM2), never in mitosis-related kinase 2 (NEK2), cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1), and cyclin B1 (CCNB1) were identified as the hub genes. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses showed that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched in the immune-associated pathways. These hub genes were further screened and validated using statistical and functional analyses. Additionally, the TOP2A, RRM2, NEK2, CDK1, and CCNB1 proteins were overexpressed in tumor liver tissues as compared to normal liver tissues according to the Human Protein Atlas database and previous studies. Our results suggest the potential use of TOP2A, RRM2, NEK2, CDK1, and CCNB1 as prognostic biomarkers in liver cancer.

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