Neuronal pentraxin-2 (NPTX2) serum levels during an acute psychotic episode in patients with schizophrenia.

Background: Neuronal pentraxin-2 (NPTX2, an immediate-early gene), which regulates synapse activity and neuroplasticity, plays an essential role in the neurodevelopmental process. NPTX2 possibly enhances the accumulation of amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic receptors (AMPAR) on the postsynaptic membranes and stimulates excitatory synaptogenesis. We aimed to evaluate the plasma concentrations of NPTX2 of patients with schizophrenia in acute psychotic episodes compared with matched community-based controls.

Methods: Ninety-three (93) patients diagnosed with schizophrenia according to DSM-5 and 83 healthy controls were included. The patients, all of which were in acute psychotic episodes, were recruited from the inpatient clinic. The patients were assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Clinical Global Impression- Severity (CGIS) scale, whereas the healthy subjects were evaluated with Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5) to exclude any major psychiatric diagnoses.

Results: NPTX2 serum concentrations were significantly higher in the schizophrenia group (p < 0.001). NPTX2 levels negatively correlated with age (p = 0.004) and PANSS-positive symptom scores (p < 0.001). The most determinant factors in predicting the change in NPTX2 levels were PANSS-positive symptom and general psychopathology scores.

Conclusions: We conclude that NPTX2 could be involved in schizophrenia pathophysiology and valuable as a synapse-derived and glutamate-related biomarker. Further studies in larger samples assessing NPTX2 levels in remitted schizophrenia patients and combining neuroimaging techniques and cognitive evaluations with blood samples are needed.