The content of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 in the serum of patients with paranoid schizophrenia and mood disorders

Objective: Proteomic studies mostly do not provide an idea of the concentration of a particular protein, therefore, the aim of the work was a comparative study of the content of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VGFR1) in the serum of patients with mental disorders. Methods: the receptor for vascular endothelial growth factor 1 in the blood serum in patients with endogenous mental disorders was detected by mass spectrometry. The concentrations of VGFR1 were measured in sera from the groups (controls, episodic type of paranoid schizophrenia with progressive or stable deficit, bipolar disorder and unipolar depression) by ELISA using commercially available kits. Results: A significant increase of VGFR1 was revealed in sera of patients with episodic type of paranoid schizophrenia with stable deficit, in contrast to patients with other types of schizophrenia and healthy persons, which may indicate a more pronounced endothelial dysfunction in these patients. Conclusions: It is possible that this protein may be a laboratory marker for this type of paranoid schizophrenia.