Serum NOS1AP concentration: association with clinical schizophrenia polymorphism and metabolic syndrome

Objective. To study the associations of the serum concentration of NOS1AP (Nitric Oxide Synthase 1 Adaptor Protein) with clinical polymorphism and components of metabolic syndrome (MS) in patients with schizophrenia. Material and methods. 111 patients with schizophrenia (F20 according to ICD-10) and 22 healthy volunteers were included in the study. Patients underwent a comprehensive clinical, anthropometric, and laboratory examination. Serum NOS1AP was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Statistical data were processed using Statistica v.12.0 and GraphPad Prism v.8.0. Differences were considered statistically significant at p<0.05. Results. Serum NOS1AP levels in schizophrenia patients were significantly higher than in healthy subjects (p=0.0025). Also, NOS1AP was higher in patients with a predominance of negative symptoms (p=0.0377). In patients with a disease duration of 5 years or more, NOS1AP was significantly higher than in those with less than 5 years (p=0.0162) The type of schizophrenia had no significant effect on NOS1AP levels (p=0.4785). A statistically significant increase in serum NOS1AP levels was observed in patients with concomitant MS compared with those without MS (p=0.0081). In patients with abdominal obesity, serum NOS1AP levels were higher than in those with normal waist circumference (p=0.043). There were no statistically significant differences in NOS1AP levels depending on the presence of hypertension or dyslipidemia. Conclusion. The found patterns suggest a common pathophysiological mechanism mediated by NOS1AP linking psychopathology to metabolic disorders.