Abstracto
- Schizophrenia (SZ) is a debilitating psychiatric disorder with a worldwide prevalence of 1%; there is a strong genetic component, with an estimated heritability of 70-85%. Glial cells mediate crucial functions in the CNS and alterations in the function of these cells may be an underlying mechanism for SZ development. Here we use astrocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from subjects from the population isolate of the Central Valley of Costa Rica (CVCR) to explore a role for astrocytes in SZ pathogenesis.