Peripheral immune markers and antipsychotic non-response in psychosis

Background: Peripheral immune markers have previously been linked to a poor response to antipsychotic medication and more severe negative symptoms at the onset of psychosis. The present study investigated the association of blood cytokines and complement markers with the presence of antipsychotic non-response and symptom severity in patients with psychosis. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 94 patients with schizophrenia and other psychoses, of whom 47 were defined as antipsychotic responders and 47 as antipsychotic non-responders. In all subjects we measured plasma levels of cytokines (IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma), complement markers (C1-inhibitor, C3, C4, C3a, C3b, Bb, factor D, C5a, terminal complement complex) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). Symptom severity was recorded using the Positive and Negative Syndrome scale for Schizophrenia (PANSS). Binary logistic regression tested each immune marker as predictor of response status while covarying for relevant socio-demographic variables. Correlation analyses tested the association between immune markers and the severity of symptoms. Results: Interleukin (IL)-8 significantly predicted antipsychotic non-response (OR=24.70, 95% CI, 1.35-453.23, p = 0.03). Other immune markers were not associated with antipsychotic response. IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TNF alpha significantly positively correlated with negative psychotic symptoms. Conclusions: Higher levels of IL-8 are associated with a poor response to antipsychotic treatment. Increased cytokines levels are specifically associated with more severe negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and other psychoses. (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

The study found that IL-8 is associated with antipsychotic non-response, while other immune markers are not significantly related to treatment response. Levels of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNFα are significantly positively correlated with the severity of negative symptoms.