The Influence of Antipsychotic Treatment on the Activity of Abzymes Targeting Myelin and Levels of Inflammation Markers in Patients with Schizophrenia

Catalytic antibodies, or abzymes, are capable of not only binding but also hydrolyzing various proteins. Previously, an increase in the level of myelin basic protein (MBP)-hydrolyzing activity of antibodies was shown in patients with a number of neurological and mental disorders, including schizophrenia. Furthermore, antipsychotic therapy is known to induce a change in cytokine levels in patients with schizophrenia, which affects regulation of the immune response and inflammatory status. This study investigated the influence of typical and atypical antipsychotics on catalytic antibody activity and the 10 major pro- and anti-inflammatory serum cytokine levels. The study included 40 patients with schizophrenia: 15 treated with first-generation antipsychotics and 25 treated with atypical antipsychotics for 6 weeks. It was found that treatment with atypical antipsychotics changed the levels of some pro-inflammatory cytokines. Antipsychotic therapy also caused a significant decrease in MBP-hydrolyzing activity in patients with schizophrenia (p = 0.0002), and associations of catalytic activity with interleukins were observed.