Exploring the link between cognitive deficit, self‐esteem, alexithymia, and depressive symptom of schizophrenia

Abstract Objective To the best of our knowledge, studies have been rarely conducted to assess the correlation between cognitive deficit, self‐esteem, and alexithymia in the depressive symptoms of schizophrenia (SCZ). Therefore, this study aims to explore the risk factors associated with impairment of cognitive function, alexithymia, and self‐esteem among a representative sample of first‐episode schizophrenic patients. Method We recruited 107 first‐episode schizophrenic patients (48.6% male, 51.4% female, 36.94 ± 10.73 years) into the research group, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition). A total of 45 healthy people (51.1% male, 48.9% female, 32.47 ± 10.94 years) were enlisted in the healthy control group. Psychotic symptoms were evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Cognitive functions were estimated using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA). The feelings of respect and self‐acceptance were tested using the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale (RSES). Emotion of identifying and describing were measured by self‐report scale of Toronto Alexithymia Scale‐20 (TAS‐20). Results Overall cognitive impairment and alexithymia were found more serious in the patients of SCZ than the healthy group (p < .001, respectively). The patients of SCZ have higher self‐esteem than the healthy group (p = .013). Total score of MoCA, ability of visual space and executive function, and delayed recall were explored had negatively correlation with alexithymia (r = −.319, p = .001; r = −.248, p = .010; r = −0.263, p = .006). Total score of RSES and depressive symptoms of PANSS had a positive correlation with alexithymia (r = .394, p = .001; r = .208, p = .032). Stepwise regression analyses have shown a positive relationship between difficulty describing feelings and depression subscale of PANSS (β = .188, t = −2.007, p = .047) while a negative relationship between externally oriented thinking and depression subscale of PANSS (β = −.244, t = −2.603, p = .011). A positive link correlation also was found between the total scores of TAS and RSES (β = .372, t = 4.144, p = .001). A negative relevance was found between the total scores of TAS and scores of MoCA (β = −.305, t = −3.348, p = .001). Conclusion Overall impairment of cognitive function and alexithymia are commonly encountered in SCZ patients. Poor cognitive function, alexithymia, and high level self‐esteem may be specific detective risk factors for the depressive symptoms of SCZ

Systematic genome editing of the genes on zebrafish Chromosome 1 by CRISPR/Cas9

Genome editing by the well-established CRISPR/Cas9 technology has greatly facilitated our understanding of many biological processes. However, a complete whole-genome knockout for any species or model organism has rarely been achieved. Here, we performed a systematic knockout of all the genes (1333) on Chromosome 1 in zebrafish, successfully mutated 1029 genes, and generated 1039 germline-transmissible alleles corresponding to 636 genes. Meanwhile, by high-throughput bioinformatics analysis, we found that sequence features play pivotal roles in effective gRNA targeting at specific genes of interest, while the success rate of gene targeting positively correlates with GC content of the target sites. Moreover, we found that nearly one-fourth of all mutants are related to human diseases, and several representative CRISPR/Cas9-generated mutants are described here. Furthermore, we tried to identify the underlying mechanisms leading to distinct phenotypes between genetic mutants and antisense morpholino-mediated knockdown embryos. Altogether, this work has generated the first chromosome-wide collection of zebrafish genetic mutants by the CRISPR/Cas9 technology, which will serve as a valuable resource for the community, and our bioinformatics analysis also provides some useful guidance to design gene-specific gRNAs for successful gene editing