毒蕈碱受体功能障碍已被认为在精神分裂症的病理生理学中起重要作用。最近,在某些精神分裂症病例中,针对神经递质受体的免疫反应性可能起致病作用。这篇综述的目的是总结精神分裂症中毒蕈碱受体功能障碍的案例,以及支持这种功能障碍与毒蕈碱受体靶向抗体的发展有关的假设的证据。
本文综述了精神分裂症患者中毒蕈碱受体的研究以及抗毒蕈碱乙酰胆碱受体抗体的存在和潜在作用。
越来越多的证据表明,毒蕈碱信号改变或缺乏是精神分裂症的一些关键临床特征的基础。尽管研究精神分裂症抗毒蕈碱乙酰胆碱受体抗体的研究数量相对较少,他们一致证明,这种抗体存在于一定比例的患者中。这些证据表明,这些抗体可能具有致病作用或作为精神分裂症未知病理生理过程的生物标志物存在。
抗毒蕈碱型乙酰胆碱受体抗体水平升高的存在可能是精神分裂症患者的一个亚组,可能会告知病因,临床表现和治疗。迄今为止,所有研究都检查了慢性精神分裂症参与者的抗体,他们可能已经接受抗精神病药物治疗多年。由于这些药物调节免疫功能和调节受体密度,建议未来的研究在首次精神病发作的人群中筛查抗毒蕈碱抗体的存在。
Muscarinic receptor dysfunction has been suggested to play an important role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Recently, it has also become clear that immune reactivity directed against neurotransmitter receptors may play a pathogenic role in some cases of schizophrenia. The aim of this review is to summarize the case for muscarinic receptor dysfunction in schizophrenia and the evidence supporting the hypothesis that this dysfunction is related to the development of muscarinic receptor-targeting antibodies.
The article reviews studies of muscarinic receptors and the presence and potential role(s) of anti-muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antibodies in people with schizophrenia.
There is accumulating evidence that altered or deficient muscarinic signalling underlies some of the key clinical features of schizophrenia. Although the number of studies investigating anti-muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antibodies in schizophrenia is relatively small, they consistently demonstrate that such antibodies are present in a proportion of patients. This evidence suggests that these antibodies could have pathogenic effects or exist as a biomarker to an unknown pathophysiological process in schizophrenia.
The presence of elevated levels of anti-muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antibodies may identify a subgroup of people with schizophrenia, potentially informing aetiopathogenesis, clinical presentation and treatment. To date, all studies have examined antibodies in participants with chronic schizophrenia, who have likely received antipsychotic medication for many years. As these medications modulate immune functions and regulate receptor densities, it is recommended that future studies screen for the presence of anti-muscarinic antibodies in people experiencing their first episode of psychosis.