Cannabis Use Is Associated With Increased Levels of Soluble gp130 in Schizophrenia but Not in Bipolar Disorder
Attila Szabo, Ibrahim A. Akkouh, Thor Ueland, Trine Vik Lagerberg, Ingrid Dieset, Thomas Doug Bjella, Pål Aukrust, Stéphanie Le Hellard, Anne-Kristin Stavrum, Ingrid S. Melle, Ole A. Andreassen, Srdjan Djurovic
Frontiers in Psychiatry July 2, 2020 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00642 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 643 |
| Population | Patients with schizophrenia (n=401) and bipolar disorder (n=242), divided into cannabis users and non-users |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Citations | 12 |
| Key findings | Cannabis self-administration was associated with markedly higher plasma sgp130 in schizophrenia but not bipolar disorder, and nominally higher IL-1RA, YKL40, CatS, sTNFR1, and BDNF in schizophrenia users. These plasma differences were not reflected in whole-blood mRNA expression of the corresponding genes, suggesting the phenomenon is independent of peripheral immune cell modulation. |
Abstract
The complex effects of plant cannabinoids on human physiology is not yet fully understood, but include a wide spectrum of effects on immune modulation. The immune system and its inflammatory effector pathways are recently emerging as possible causative factors in psychotic disorders. The present study aimed to investigate whether self-administered cannabis use was associated with changes in circulating immune and neuroendocrine markers in schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) patients. A screening of 13 plasma markers reflecting different inflammatory pathways was performed in SCZ (n=401) and BD patients (n=242) after subdividing each group into cannabis user and non-user subgroups. We found that i) soluble gp130 (sgp130) concentrations were significantly elevated among cannabis users in the SCZ group (p=0.002) after multiple testing correction, but not in BD. ii) Nominally significant differences were observed in the levels of IL-1RA (p=0.0059), YKL40 (p=0.0069), CatS (p=0.013), sTNFR1 (p=0.031), and BDNF (p=0.020), where these factors exhibited higher plasma levels in cannabis user SCZ patients than in non-users. iii) These differences in systemic levels were not reflected by altered mRNA expression of genes encoding sgp130, IL-1RA, YKL40, CatS, sTNFR1, and BDNF in whole blood. Our results show that cannabis self-administration is associated with markedly higher sgp130 levels in SCZ, but not in BD, and that this phenomenon is independent of the modulation of peripheral immune cells. These findings warrant further investigation into the potential IL-6 trans-signaling modulatory, anti-inflammatory, neuroimmune, and biobehavioral-cognitive effects of cannabis use in SCZ.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannabis use before age 15 and subsequent executive functioning 104 chronic cannabis users (49 early-onset before age 15, 55 late-onset after age 15)... | 2011 | Observational cross-sectional study | n = 148 |
| Patterns of simultaneous polysubstance use in drug using university students Drug-using university students | 2006 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 149 |
| Persisting Reductions in Cannabis, Opioid, and Stimulant Misuse After Naturalistic Psychedelic Use: An Online Survey Online survey respondents | 2020 | Cross-sectional survey | |
| User perceptions of the benefits and harms of hallucinogenic drug use: A web-based questionnaire study Users of hallucinogenic drugs who completed a web-based questionnaire | 2010 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 600 |
| Illicit Use of LSD or Psilocybin, but not MDMA or Nonpsychedelic Drugs, is Associated with Mystical Experiences in a Dose-Dependent Manner Adults recruited from the MAPS website and newsletter, most reporting use of various... | 2012 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 337 |