Are lectin positive spherical deposits detected in the molecular layer of the hippocampal formation related with neuronal apoptosis?

Previously, multi-lectin positive spherical shaped deposits were detected in the hippocampal formation of degenerative demented and schizophrenic brains and reported they possessed some possibility as a predominant tool of postmortem diagnosis, more detected in schizophrenia cases than age-matched control cases. Multi-fluorescent immunohistochemical and lectin histochemical method and immuno electron microscope method were performed on 51 forensic autopsied brains containing 16 cases of schizophrenia. In multi-fluorescent staining, partial disrupted nucleus with decreased staining properties by mean of SYBR green were detected, and lectin and single strand DNA were co-stained in the portion of partial disrupted nucleus. In immuno electron microscope method, lectin positive structures were also detected in the portion of partial disrupted nucleus. These neurons were suspected in the process of apoptosis by their distinguishable features. Some experimental studies were reported that a kind of therapeutic products of major tranquillizers induced neuron apoptosis in dentate gyrus. As the lectin positive spherical shaped deposits were detected in not only 5 schizophrenia cases without drug treatment but also in 11 schizophrenia cases with drug treatment in this study, they might be detected as the intrinsic pathological change of schizophrenia. The lectin positive spherical shaped deposits detected in the hippocampal formation were suspected as the histopathological marker of the postmortem diagnosis for schizophrenia. Further examination for specifying group of neurons detected them in and initiated apoptosis are necessitated.