Expression data with olfactory neuronal cells from healthy controls and schizophrenia patients

The use of biospecimens sampled from patients with active symptomatic manifestation has been regarded as indispensable for studying pathophysiological mechanisms in many medical conditions, such as several types of cancers, liver disorders encompassing hepatitis, and lung disorders including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. However, due to the difficulty in accessing the brain in living patients, this strategy has not been utilized in psychiatry. To overcome this limitation, multiple investigators have recently highlighted the utility of olfactory epithelium-derived neuronal cells (henceforth, ‘olfactory neuronal cells’), easily accessible through a nasal biopsy, as a promising surrogate that captures neuron-relevant molecular signatures in the course of functional impairment in living patients with major psychiatric disorders.

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