The effects of blood serum from schizophrenia patients under olanzapine monotherapy on the ultrastructure of astrocytes in human fetal brain organotypic culture

OBJECTIVE: To study effects of blood serum (BS) from schizophrenia patients under olanzapine monotherapy on astrocytes in the human fetal brain organotypic culture. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Authors studied the human fetal brain organotypic culture after the application of BS from 20 normals and 33 patients (ICD-10 schizophrenia, paranoid type, F20.02; F20.22) taken before and after 8 and 28 weeks of olanzapine treatment. A qualitative electron microscopic study of glial cells, neurons and neuropil as well as morphometric study of the ultrastructure of astrocytes were performed. RESULTS: Authors found no effects of BS from the patients with schizophrenia on neurons and synaptic contacts. The qualitative and morphometric studies revealed different effects of BS from the patients on the astrocyte ultrastructure before and after olanzapine treatment. The application of BS from untreated schizophrenia patients induced dystrophic alterations of astrocytes, BS from patients who received olanzapine during 8 weeks did not influence the astrocyte ultrastructure. After 28 weeks of olanzapine treatment,a hypertrophy of astrocytes (an increase (р≤0.05) of the area of cells and the number of mitochondria (p=0,015) and unaltered volume density of mitochondria) was found as compared to normal control cultures. CONCLUSION: BS from patients with schizophrenia before and after olanzapine treatment induced opposite types of ultrastructural changes of astrocytes in the human fetal brain organotypic culture. The differences might be due to the previously reported changes of the level of circulating immune complexes and interleukins in blood serum of schizophrenia patients and due to the effects of olanzapine on these parameters.