Objective: High mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) is a non-histone proteinthat plays a role in neuroinflammation by inducing cytokines. Weaimed to compare HMGB1 levels in patients with schizophrenia in bothacute exacerbation and remission phases and in healthy controls andto determine whether HMGB1 correlates with symptom severity andC-reactive protein (CRP), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR).
Methods: The study included 31 schizophrenia patients in remission and31 schizophrenia patients hospitalised for acute psychotic exacerbationand 30 healthy controls. Serum HMGB1 levels were measured byenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Brief Psychiatric RatingScale (BPRS), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and ClinicalGlobal Impression Scale (CGI) were used to assess symptom severity.
Results: Serum HMGB1 levels were found to be significantly higher in boththe remission group (140.48±63.52 pg/ml) and the acute exacerbationgroup (125.92±48.71 pg/ml) compared to healthy controls (57.44±13.04pg/ml) (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference inserum HMGB1 levels between patients in remission and patients inacute psychotic exacerbation. There was no correlation between serumHMGB1 levels and severity of symptoms. No significant correlation wasfound between serum HMGB1 levels and other inflammatory markers.There was a statistically significant negative correlation between serumHMGB1 levels and chlorpromazine-equivalent antipsychotic doses (rs=-0.316, p=0.047).
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that HMGB1 levels are elevated inindividuals with schizophrenia, regardless of phase, which may reflecttrait-like characteristics of the disorder. However, further researchis needed to confirm this. Increased HMGB1 may contribute toschizophrenia pathogenesis through neuroinflammation.
Keywords: Biomarker, CRP, HMGB-1, inflammation, schizophrenia