The ultrastructure of lymphocytes in schizophrenia

Objective: Replicated abnormalities in schizophrenia include decreased cellular immunity. The aim of the study was to verify whether there are some abnormalities in the ultrastructure of lymphocytes in drug-free schizophrenic patients. Method: Fifty-nine in-patients with paranoid schizophrenia (DSM-IV 295.30) and 31 normal controls were used. Psychosis severity was assessed by the PANSS psychotic cluster. Electron microscopy and morphometric methods were applied to estimate the frequency and ultrastructural parameters of small, large, large activated lymphocytes (LAL) (containing 10 and more mitochondria) and of atypical lymphocytes (lymphoblasts, LB). Results: The frequency of small lymphocytes in schizophrenic patients was lower and that of large lymphocytes, LAL and LB was higher than in controls (all p = <0.01). The volume density (Vv) of mitochondria in LAL in individuals with schizophrenia was lower than in controls (p < 0.05), correlated negatively with the frequency of LB, Vv and number of lysosomes in LB (all p <0.01) and with the psychosis severity (p < 0.05). In schizophrenic patients a trend towards positive correlations between the frequency of LB and psychosis severity were found (p < 0.07). Conclusion: The data suggest that the excess of LB in schizophrenic patients is associated with the dysfunction of energy metabolism in LAL, and these abnormalities are related to schizophrenia.