Immune alterations in schizophrenia and the effects of a therapeutic antibody: a neuroimaging study

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Immune dysfunction is implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, with microglia playing a key role.
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TSPO PET imaging shows elevated levels in first-episode psychosis patients compared to healthy controls.
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Natalizumab treatment resulted in a modest improvement in symptoms but did not significantly change TSPO levels.
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The study suggests that higher TSPO levels may reflect expression by non-microglial cells in schizophrenia.
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Further research is needed to clarify the functional relevance and cellular specificity of TSPO alterations in psychosis.

Brain

by Yuya Mizuno, Ines Carreira Figueiredo, Toby Pillinger, Guy Hindley, Luke Baxter, Sita Parmar, Maria C Lobo, Jacek G Donocik, Ivana Rosenzweig, Anish Gupta, Ilaria Callegari, Sami Jeljeli, Joel T Dunn, Alexander Hammers, Ramla Awais, Kerstin Sander, Erik Årstad, Marios Politis, Julia J Schubert, Mattia Veronese, Federico E Turkheimer, Tiago Reis Marques, Oliver D Howes
December 1, 2025

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