Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
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Neuropsychopharmacology · Mar 2002
Striatal excitatory amino acid transporter transcript expression in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder.
Because abnormalities of glutamatergic neurotransmission in psychiatric illness are likely not limited to glutamate receptor expression, we investigated expression of excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) in the striatum. The EAATs, normally expressed in both glia (EAAT1 and EAAT2) and neurons (EAAT3 and EAAT4), have previously been implicated in Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and schizophrenia. ⋯ We also detected decreased EAAT3 transcript expression in schizophrenia and decreased EAAT4 transcript expression in major depressive disorder. These results suggest that changes in striatal transporter mRNA expression are restricted to neuronal EAATs and extend the body of evidence implicating abnormal glutamatergic neurotransmission in schizophrenia and mood disorders.