Claudin-5, claudin-12, occludin, angulin-1 and trisellulin levels in children and adolescents diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder

Objective: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by the presence of obsessions and/or compulsions that cause distress and functional impairment in individuals. Functional changes in tight junctions are thought to contribute to the pathophysiology of some psychiatric disorders. In this study, it was aimed to compare children and adolescents diagnosed with OCD and healthy controls in terms of serum claudin-5, claudin-12, occludin, angulin-1 and tricellulin levels, and to evaluate the relationship between OCD symptom severity and biochemical parameters. Methods: 41 children and adolescents diagnosed with OCD and 41 healthy controls were included in this study to form the healthy control group. The OCD severity of the participants was evaluated with the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale for Children (YB-BOCS) and the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Questionnaire (MOCS). Venous blood was obtained from all participants for the measurement of serum claudin-5, claudin-12, occludin, angulin-1 and tricellulin levels. Results: In our study, serum claudin-5, claudin-12, occludin and tricellulin levels were found to be significantly higher in the OCD group compared to healthy controls. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of serum angulin-1 levels. Conclusion: High serum claudin-5, claudin-12, tricellulin and occludin levels detected in patients with OCD may be a biomarker of deterioration in the blood-brain barrier and intestinal permeability. More work is needed to understand the relationship between tight junction proteins and OCD. Keywords: Gut-brain axis, OCD, microbiota, claudin-5, claudin-12, occludin, angulin-1, tricellulin