Exploring the mRNA expression level of RELN in peripheral blood of schizophrenia patients before and after antipsychotic treatment

Background The Reelin (RELN) gene encodes the protein reelin, which is a large extracellular matrix glycoprotein that plays a key role in brain development. Additionally, this protein may be involved in memory formation, neurotransmission, and synaptic plasticity, which have been shown to be disrupted in schizophrenia (SCZ). A decreasing trend in the expression of RELN mRNA in the brain and peripheral blood of SCZ patients has been observed. There is a need to determine whether changes in RELN mRNA expression in SCZ patients are the result of long-term antipsychotic treatment rather than the etiological characteristics of schizophrenia. The expression levels of RELN mRNA in the peripheral blood of 48 healthy controls and 30 SCZ patients before and after 12-weeks of treatment were measured using quantitative real-time PCR. Results The expression levels of RELN mRNA in the SCZ group were significantly lower than that of healthy controls; however, after 12-weeks of antipsychotic treatment, RELN mRNA levels were significantly increased in the SCZ group. Conclusion The up-regulation of RELN mRNA expression was current in SCZ patients after antipsychotic treatment, suggesting that the changes in RELN mRNA expression were related to the effect of the antipsychotic treatment.