Neurons expressing calcium-binding proteins in the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia

Increased neuronal density, cortical thinning, and alterations of GABAergic interneurons in the prefrontal cortex have been associated with the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. This study used antibodies directed against the calcium-binding proteins, calretinin (CR), parvalbumin (PV), and calbindin (CB) to compare the relative density of subpopulations of GABAergic interneurons in BA9 of the prefrontal cortex from six subjects with schizophrenia and six control subjects matched for age, gender, and postmortem interval. The relative density of interneurons expressing CR, PV, or CB did not differ significantly between subjects with schizophrenia and control subjects. In addition, no change in somal size of immunoreactive (IR) neurons or cortical thickness was observed between the two groups. This study supports previous reports consistently demonstrating no change in the relative density of interneurons expressing CR in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia but does not support previous inconsistent findings that the relative density of interneurons expressing PV and CB might be altered in this disorder. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.