Serum levels of oxidants and protein S100B were associated in the first-episode drug naïve patients with schizophrenia

Background: Patients with schizophrenia have been noted with an elevation of serum S100B protein concentration, but the pathological process is not known. This study was to investigate the relationship between levels of S100B protein and oxidative stress. Methods: General information and blood sample were collected from the first-episode drug naïve or drug-free acute stage of patients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) criteria for schizophrenia and healthy controls. The serum levels of S100B, total oxidants (TOS) and malonaldehyde (MDA) were used to measure the level of oxidative stress in both patients, and healthy controls. General linear regression analysis was performed to examine the association of S100B protein with the levels of oxidative stress. Results: The levels of serum protein S100B were associated with the concentration of both TOS (Beta=15.77; p=0.0038) and MDA (Beta=7.90; p=0.0068) in the first-episode drug-naive patients (n=29).While both associations were no longer significant (p>0.05) in the drug-free acute phase patients (n=29); the levels of serum S100B was still consistently associated with TOS (Beta=12.42;p=0.0026) and MDA(Beta=4.11;p=0.0480) in the combined group of patients group(n=58). Simultaneous analysis of both oxidative markers, we still found that both TOS (Beta=12.88; p=0.0103) and MDA (Beta=6.46; p=0.0167) were associated with the serum level of protein S100B in the first-episode drug-naive patients, but not drug-free acute phase patients. Conclusion: Our results suggest that astrocyte activity, serum levels of oxidants, and their cross-talking might be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. This warrants a further study for understanding the underlying mechanism.