a study of autoantibodies against some central nervous system antigens and the il-35 serum level in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia (scz) is a debilitating mental disorder with various causes involving complex interactions between genetic factors and environmental agents. the immune system plays a vital role in the pathology and function of the nervous system. interleukin 35 (il-35) is a regulatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine that can prevent autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. this study aimed to investigate the role of autoantibodies against some central nervous system (cns) antigens and il-35 serum levels in patients with schizophrenia. this case-control study involved 80 participants. the serum levels of il-35 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the autoantibodies in the cns by indirect immunofluorescence assay (ifa). the serum levels of il-35 were decreased in patient groups compared to healthy subjects. autoantibodies against n-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (nmdar) and myelin-associated glycoprotein (mag) were positive in 15% (6/40) and 7.5% (3/40), respectively; however, no antibodies against myelin, aquaporin-4 (aqp4), myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (mog), voltage-gated potassium channel (vgkc), α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (ampar), γ-butyric acid receptor type b1 γ-butyric acid receptor type b1 (gababr), antidipeptidyl peptidase-like protein-6 (dppx), immunoglobulin-like cell adhesion molecule 5 (iglon5), glycine receptor (r) and acetylcholine receptor (ach r) were detected (no statistics were computed). we found that decreased serum il-35 levels and the existence autoantibodies against nmdar antigen may contribute to the pathogenesis of scz.