Galectins and the Interleukin-33/Suppression of Tumorigenicity-2 Pathway in First-episode Psychosis and Schizophrenia: A Cross-sectional Exploratory Study

28/10/2026

AI Summary

Compared serum galectin-1, galectin-3, galectin-4, IL-33 and sST2 across first-episode psychosis, schizophrenia and healthy controls.
Galectin-3 and sST2 showed lower levels in schizophrenia and intermediate levels in FEP, but differences lost significance after false discovery rate correction.
Exploratory correlations suggested inverse associations with clinical severity; only sST2 association with CGI-S remained significant after FDR; findings exploratory.

TL;DR (AI Generated)

This study aimed to compare serum levels of galectin-1, galectin-3, galectin-4, IL-33, and soluble ST2 (sST2) among individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP), schizophrenia, and healthy controls (HC), and to examine their associations with clinical severity.

Exploratory analyses showed inverse associations between several biomarkers and clinical severity, but after FDR correction, only the association between sST2 and CGI-S remained significant.

Basic summary

Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. 2026 Nov 30;24(4):844-853. doi: 10.9758/cpn.26.1429. Epub 2026 May 13.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Immune dysregulation has been increasingly implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, although findings regarding inflammatory biomarkers remain heterogeneous. Regulatory immune mediators, including galectins and the interleukin-33 (IL-33)/suppression of tumorigenicity-2 (ST2) pathway, may provide further insight into neuroimmune alterations across psychotic disorders. This study aimed to compare serum levels of galectin-1, galectin-3, galectin-4, IL-33, and soluble ST2 (sST2) among individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP), schizophrenia, and healthy controls (HC), and to examine their associations with clinical severity.

METHODS: Eighty-six participants (30 FEP, 29 schizophrenia, 27 HC) were included in this cross-sectional naturalistic study. Psychopathology was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Clinical Global Impressions- Severity (CGI-S) scale. Biomarker levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Group differences were analyzed using ANOVA and ANCOVA adjusted for relevant covariates. Effect sizes were estimated with eta-squared (η²), and multiple comparisons were controlled using the Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) procedure. Correlation analyses were considered exploratory.

RESULTS: Nominal group differences were observed for galectin-3 (p = 0.043) and sST2 (p = 0.018), with lower levels in schizophrenia and intermediate levels in FEP; however, these differences did not remain significant after FDR correction. Effect size analyses indicated small-to-moderate group effects. Exploratory analyses showed inverse associations between several biomarkers and clinical severity, but after FDR correction, only the association between sST2 and CGI-S remained significant.

CONCLUSION: Galectin-3 and sST2 may be associated with immune-regulatory processes in psychotic disorders. However, the findings should be considered exploratory, and larger longitudinal studies are needed.

PMID:42947599 | DOI:10.9758/cpn.26.1429

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