The role of mGluR5 receptor availability in patients with chronic schizophrenia
28th February 2020
Cláudia Régio Brambilla, Tanja Veselinovi, Ravichandran Rajkumar, Jörg Mauler, Linda Orth, Andrej Ruch, Shukti Ramkiran, Karsten Heekeren, Wolfram Kawohl, Christine Wyss, Elena Rota Kops, Jürgen Scheins, Lutz Tellmann, Frank Boers, Bernd Neumaier, Johannes Ermert, Hans Herzog, Karl-Josef Langen, N. Jon Shah, Christoph Lerche, Irene Neuner
Over the last 100 years, numerous studies have identified various genetic and environmental factors that contribute to its development. More recently, consistent findings postulate disturbed glutamatergic function (more specifically a hypofunction of the ionotropic NMDA receptors) as an important pathophysiologic mechanism in schizophrenia. However, the role of the metabotropic glutamatergic receptors type 5 (mGluR5) in this disease remains unclear.
In this study, the significance of these receptors are investigated in terms of psychopathology and cognition in male patients with chronic schizophrenia and healthy controls using PET measurements with [11C]ABP688.
The findings of the study provide support for the concept that the impaired function of mGluR5 underlies the symptoms of schizophrenia. They further supply a new perspective on the complex relationship between tobacco addiction and schizophrenia by identifying glutamatergic neurotransmission—in particularly mGluR5—as a possible connection to a shared vulnerability.
Original publication: