Microarray analysis of altered gene expression in schizophrenia

Objective The pilot study was to detect gene expression profiles in schizophrenia using microarray analysis. Methods Leucocytes in peripheral blood of six patients and six normal controls were collected and total RNA was abstracted. The cDNA probes were prepared by labeling cell RNA with Cy3-dUTP and Cy5-dUTP with reverse transcription. The arrays with 8 464 genes were hybridized against the cDNA probe mixture,and the fluorescent signals were scanned. Results Thirteen genes were down-regulated in all schizophrenic subjects when the ratio of Cy5∶Cy3 signal was greater than 2.0 or smaller than 0.5;and 31 genes expression altered when greater than 1.5 or smaller than 0.7. Out of the 31 genes,29 genes showed decreased expression and 2 genes elevated expression in schizophrenics. Conclusions The results provide preliminary evidence that some genes involved in immune,neuronal development,myelination formation,neurotransmission may have different expressions in schizophrenia from normal people.