Table 2.
Neuropathological postmortem studies focusing on oligodendrocyte involvement in bipolar disorder.
| Reference | Methodology | Subjects | Age, years (mean ± SD) | Sex ratio M/F | Main findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hercher et al. (28) | Neuropathological postmortem assessment of DLPC WM in SZ, BD, and HC (2-D cell counting technique) | 20 SZ vs. 20 BD vs. 20 HC | SZ 44.7 (±6.9), BD 47.4 (±0.7), HC 45 (±6.5) | SZ 13/7, BD 8/12, HC 14/6 | ↑ OD in BD vs. HC. No differences in SZ vs. HC. No differences in AD among the groups just a trend toward ↓ AD in SZ vs. HC |
| Savitz et al. (45) | Review of postmortem studies on mPFC neuronal density and glial cell density in BD and HC | − | − | − | 3-D cell counting studies:↓ glial cell density (predominantly ↓ OD) in BD vs. HC. Unclear if ↓ ND in BD vs. HC |
| Haroutunian et al. (46) | Review of postmortem studies and genetic studies on myelin and oligodendrocyte involvement in SZ, BD, and MDD | − | − | − | ↓ cortical OD and myelin gene disruption in SZ, BD and MDD vs. HC. ↓ subcortical OD in BD and MDD vs. SZ |
| Williams et al. (47) | Neuropathological postmortem assessment in sgACC and genu of CC among SZ, BD, MDD, and HC (2-D cell counting technique) | 10 SZ vs. 15 BD vs. 20 MDD vs. 19 HC | SZ 65.5 (±2.3), BD 56.1 (±5.2), MDD 47.6 (±3.1), HC 65.5 (±2.3) | SZ 5/5, BD 6/9, MDD 7/13, HC 11/8 | ↓ AD in sgACC and anterior CC WM in SZ vs. HC. No changes in OD among different groups in sgACC and anterior CC WM |
| Gos et al. (48) | Neuropathological postmortem assessment of AD and OD in HPC (alveus and CA1 pyramidal layer) among MDD, BD, and HC (2-D cell counting technique) | 6 BD vs. 9 MDD vs. 13 HC | BD 55.7 (±13.3), MDD 49.6 (±11), HC 55.3 (±12.3) | BD 3/3, MDD 2/7, HC 7/5 | Bilateral ↓ AD in CA1 pyramidal layer in MDD and BD vs. HC. ↓ OD in left alveus only in BD vs. HC |
| Hayashi et al. (49) | Neuropathological postmortem assessment of PFC and ITC GM to examine OD among SZ, BD, and HC (3-D cell counting technique) | 10 PFC SZ vs. 12 PFC BD vs. 12 PFC HC 11 ITC SZ vs. 11 ITC BD vs. 11 ITC HC | PFC SZ 43 (±14), BD 41 (±11), HC 48 (±11) ITC SZ 45 (±14), BD 41 (±12), HC 50 (±10) | PFC: SZ 7/3, BD 7/5, HC 8/4 ITC: SZ 6/5, BD 6/5, HC 7/5 | ↓ OD in PFC GM of BD vs. SZ and HC. ↓ ID in ITC GM of BD and SZ vs. HC |
| Mahon et al. (43) | Review of postmortem neuroimaging and genetic studies on WM in BD | − | − | − | 3-D cell counting studies: ↓ cortical OD in sgACC and DLPC in BD vs. HC. Disruption in myelin and oligodendrocyte-related genes expression in BD |
| Vostrikov et al. (50) | Neuropathological postmortem assessment of OD related to age in PFC among SZ, MDD, BD, and HC (2-D cell counting technique) | 15 SZ vs. 15 BD vs. 15 MDD vs. 15 HC | SZ 44.5 (±13.1), BD 42.3 (±11.7), MDD 46.5 (±9.3), HC 48.1 (±10.7) | SZ 9/6, BD 9/6, MDD 9/6, HC 9/6 | ↓ OD in young BD vs. HC. Age-related ↑ OD in HC, but not in SZ, MDD, and BD |
SZ, schizophrenia; BD, bipolar disorder; MDD, major depressive disorder; HC, healthy controls; pts, patients; GM, gray matter; WM, white matter; DLPFC, dorso lateral prefrontal cortex; OD, oligodencrocyte density; ID, interneuron density; AD, astrocyte density; ND, neuronal density; sgACC, subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex; CC, corpus callosum; HPC, hippocampus; ITC, inferior temporal cortex.