Association between inflammatory cytokines and symptoms of major depressive disorder in adults

Xue Min; Genwei Wang; Yalian Cui; Peipei Meng; Xiaodong Hu; Sha Liu; Yanfang Wang

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1110775

Association between inflammatory cytokines and symptoms of major depressive disorder in adults

Front Immunol. 2023 Feb 13:14:1110775. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1110775. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Xue Min¹, Genwei Wang¹, Yalian Cui², Peipei Meng², Xiaodong Hu², Sha Liu³, Yanfang Wang²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
² Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
³ Shanxi Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence Assisted Diagnosis and Treatment for Mental Disorders, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the association between inflammatory cytokines and major depressive disorder.

Methods: Plasma biomarkers were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis of baseline biomarkers in the major depression disorder (MDD) group and healthy controls (HC) group, and differences in biomarkers before and after treatment. Spearman analysis was performed to correlate baseline and after treatment MDD biomarkers with the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) total scores. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were analyzed for the effect of biomarkers on MDD and HC classification and diagnosis.

Results: Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were significantly higher in the MDD group than in the HC group, while high mobility group protein 1 (HMGB1) levels were significantly lower in the MDD group. The AUCs for HMGB1, TNF-α, and IL-6 were 0.375, 0.733, and 0.783, respectively, according to the ROC curves. MDD patients with brain-derived neurotrophic factor precursor (proBDNF) levels were positively correlated with total HAMD-17 scores. The levels of proBDNF levels were positively correlated with the total HAMD-17 score in male MDD patients, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and interleukin 18 (IL-18) levels were negatively correlated with the total HAMD-17 score in female MDD patients.

Conclusion: Inflammatory cytokines are associated with the severity of MDD, and TNF-α and IL-6 have the potential as objective biomarkers to aid in the diagnosis of MDD.

Keywords: biomarkers; immune; inflammatory cytokines; interleukins; major depressive disorder.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Cytokines
Depressive Disorder, Major* / diagnosis
Female
HMGB1 Protein*
Humans
Interleukin-6
Male
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Substances

Cytokines
HMGB1 Protein
Interleukin-6
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Grants and funding

Financial support for this research was provided by the Scientific Research Foundation of Shanxi Provincial Health Commission (2022140),Shanxi 136 advanced Medical Engineering Project (Y2022136012), Public Scientific Research Project of Western Psychiatric Association of Sichuan Province (Wcpafund-201507), and National Key Research and Development Project (2016YFC1307103).