Elevated Level of Blood Lysosphingolipids in Patients with Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder with a prevalence of 0.7–1% of the general population and is characterized by impaired dopamine transmission in neurons. Recent data have shown that lysosomal storage disorders (LSD), characterized by a decrease in enzyme activity and a corresponding accumulation of substrate in lysosomes due to mutations in lysosomal genes, can manifest a wide range of clinical symptoms including psychosis, affective disorders, early onset dementia, and schizophrenia. The purpose of this study is to assess the level of lysosphingolipids in patients with schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease (PD), and the control. The study includes 52 patients with schizophrenia, 170 patients with PD, and 166 neurologically healthy individuals (control group). The concentration of lysosomal substrates (hexosylsphingosine (HexSph), globotriaosylsphingosine (LysoGb3), lysosphingomyelin (LysoSM)) are measured by high-liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) in blood. An increase in the concentration of LysoSM, LysoGb3, and HexSph is detected in patients with schizophrenia compared to the control ( p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, respectively). Our results confirm a violation of the lysosphingolipid composition of the blood in patients with schizophrenia.