Hippocampal expression of the calcium sensor protein visinin-like protein-1 in schizophrenia.

Hippocampal cytoarchitectural abnormalities may be part of the cerebral substrate of schizophrenia. Amongst the chemical components being abnormal in brains of schizophrenics are altered calcium concentrations and reduced expression of the neurotrophin receptor, trkB. We studied by immunohistochemical methods the distribution of visinin-like protein-1 (VILIP-1), which is a calcium sensor protein and at the same time a trkB mRNA binding protein, in hippocampi of nine schizophrenic patients and nine matched control subjects.