Work

Galectins and the Interleukin-33/Suppression of Tumorigenicity-2 Pathway in First-episode Psychosis and Schizophrenia: A Cross-sectional Exploratory Study

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Objective: Immune dysregulation has been increasingly implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, although findings regarding inflammatory biomarkers remain heterogeneous.Regulatory immune mediators, including galectins and the interleukin-33 (IL-33)/suppression of tumorigenicity-2 (ST2) pathway, may provide further insight into neuroimmune alterations across psychotic disorders.This study aimed to compare serum levels of galectin-1, galectin-3, galectin-4, IL-33, and soluble ST2 (sST2) among individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP), schizophrenia, and healthy controls (HC), and to examine their associations with clinical severity.Methods: Eighty-six participants (30 FEP, 29 schizophrenia, 27 HC) were included in this cross-sectional naturalistic study.Psychopathology was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Clinical Global Impressions-Severity (CGI-S) scale.Biomarker levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Group differences were analyzed using ANOVA and ANCOVA adjusted for relevant covariates.Effect sizes were estimated with eta-squared ( 2 ), and multiple comparisons were controlled using the Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) procedure.Correlation analyses were considered exploratory.Results: Nominal group differences were observed for galectin-3 (p = 0.043) and sST2 (p = 0.018), with lower levels in schizophrenia and intermediate levels in FEP; however, these differences did not remain significant after FDR correction.Effect size analyses indicated small-to-moderate group effects.Exploratory analyses showed inverse associations between several biomarkers and clinical severity, but after FDR correction, only the association between sST2 and CGI-S remained significant.Conclusion: Galectin-3 and sST2 may be associated with immune-regulatory processes in psychotic disorders.However, the findings should be considered exploratory, and larger longitudinal studies are needed.

Source: Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience

DOI: 10.9758/cpn.26.1429

Authors: Hüseyin Uçar, Meryem Sebla Ertuğrul, Eda Uçar, Sinan Yetkin, Özcan Uzun

Institutions: Ankara Atatürk Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi, Ankara Etlik City Hospital, Gülhane Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi

Language: English

Topic: Schizophrenia research and treatment

Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W7160901937