Cytokine and growth factor involvement in schizophrenia - support for the developmental model

Medical treatment with various cytokines can provoke psychiatric symptoms. Conversely, psychiatric patients can display abnormalities in cytokine and neurotrophic factor expression, Such observations have pointed to the poten tial contribution of cytokines and growth factors to schizophrenic patholog y and/or etiology, The cellular targets of the relevant factors and the nat ure of their actions remain to be explored in mental illness, however. Rece nt physiological studies demonstrate that cytokines and neurotrophic factor s can markedly influence synaptic transmission and plasticity upon acute or chronic application. Moreover, many of the molecular alterations observed in the schizophrenic brain are consistent with abnormalities in cytokine an d neurotrophic factor regulation of these molecules, in this review, we sum marize these molecular pathology findings for schizophrenia and highlight t he neurodevelopmental activities of cytokines and neurotrophic factors that may contribute to the etiology or pathology of this illness.