Gene expression of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 and excitatory amino acid transporter 2 in the schizophrenic hippocampus

A disturbance in glutamategic transmission has been suggested to contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and recent studies on ionotropic glutamate receptors are consistent with altered glutamatergic function in the hippocampus of schizophrenics. In order to investigate this hypothesis further, the expression of two 'glutamategic' markers, the mRNAs of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) and human excitatory amino acid transporter (EAAT2) were compared in the hippocampus of control subjects and schizophrenics. We examined the regional/cellular mRNA expression of mGluRS and EAAT2 in postmortem hippocampal sections from schizophrenics and control subjects, using in situ hybridization. Regions of interests were dentate,gyrus, cornu ammonis 4, 3, 1 and parahippocampal gyrus. The regional/cellular mGluRS mRNA content was not different between the two groups. The cellular EAAT2 mRNA content was significantly decreased in schizophrenic parahippocampal gyrus, but not in other hippocampal regions. Furthermore, only in the parahippocampal gyms, schizophrenics had a significantly increased mGluR5/EAAT2 ratio at both the regional and cellular mRNA level. The results suggest that a disturbance of glutamatergic neurotransmission in schizophrenia was not apparent using these indices in the hippocampus, but 'hypo-glutamatergic' neurotransmission may be present in the schizophrenic parahippocampal gyrus. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.