UC Davis

BACKGROUND: Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) in the metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids might play a role in the pathogenesis of major psychiatric disorders. Here we studied whether expression of sEH protein is altered in the postmortem samples (parietal cortex, and liver) from patients with major psychiatric disorders. METHODS: Protein expression of sEH in the parietal cortex and liver from control, major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD), and schizophrenia (SZ) groups was measured. RESULTS: Levels of sEH in the parietal cortex and liver from MDD, BD, and SZ groups were significantly higher than the control group. Interestingly, there was a positive correlation between sEH protein in the parietal cortex and sEH protein the liver in all groups. LIMITATIONS: The small number in each group may limit our interpretation. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the increased expression of sEH in the brain and liver might play a role in the pathogenesis of major psychiatric disorders, suggesting a role of brain - liver axis in major psychiatric disorders.