Michel Tanja M, Frangou Sophia, Camara Sibylle, Thiemeyer Dorothea, Jecel Julia, Tatschner Thomas, Zoechling Robert, Grünblatt Edna
RWTH Aachen University, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Eur Psychiatry. 2008 Sep;23(6):413-20. doi: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2008.06.001. Epub 2008 Aug 30.
A growing body of evidence suggests that the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is involved in the aetiopathology of mood disorders. GDNF is a neurotrophic factor from the transforming growth factor-beta-family, playing a role in cell development and function in the limbic system. This is the first study to examine GDNF concentration in different brain regions of patients with depressive disorder (DD).
We used sandwich-ELISA-technique to ascertain GDNF concentration and Lowry assay for overall protein levels in post-mortem brain tissue of 7 patients with recurrent depressive disorder and 14 individuals without any neurological or psychiatric diagnoses. We included cortical regions as well as limbic area's (hippocampus, entorhinal cortex) basal ganglia (putamen, caudate nucleus), thalamus and cingulated gyrus.
We found a significant increase in GDNF concentration in the parietal cortex of patients with DD compared to the control group. In other regions the trend of an increased GDNF concentration did not reach statistical difference.
This proof of concept study supports previous findings of an alteration of the GDNF in patients with depressive disorder. However, for the first time a significant increase of GDNF in a cortical brain area was found in DD.
越来越多的证据表明，胶质细胞源性神经营养因子（GDNF）参与了情绪障碍的病因病理学过程。GDNF是一种来自转化生长因子-β家族的神经营养因子，在边缘系统的细胞发育和功能中发挥作用。这是第一项研究抑郁症（DD）患者不同脑区中GDNF浓度的研究。
我们使用夹心ELISA技术确定GDNF浓度，并使用Lowry法检测7例复发性抑郁症患者和14例无任何神经或精神疾病诊断的个体死后脑组织中的总蛋白水平。我们纳入了皮质区域以及边缘区域（海马体、内嗅皮质）、基底神经节（壳核、尾状核）、丘脑和扣带回。
我们发现与对照组相比，DD患者顶叶皮质中的GDNF浓度显著增加。在其他区域，GDNF浓度增加的趋势未达到统计学差异。
这项概念验证研究支持了先前关于抑郁症患者GDNF改变的研究结果。然而，首次在DD患者的皮质脑区发现GDNF显著增加。
