Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Neuropsychobiology. 2010 Aug;62(3):151-7. doi: 10.1159/000318571. Epub 2010 Jul 14.
The prohormone preproenkephalin (ppE) and its derived peptides are involved in leukocyte functioning as well as in the regulation of hunger and satiety. Various abnormalities of the immune and endocrine systems have been described in states of malnutrition such as anorexia nervosa (AN). We hypothesized that ppE expression in AN patients may vary depending on the state of the disorder and the extent of malnutrition.
Expression of ppE mRNA was analysed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 29 underweight and 29 weight-recovered patients with AN and compared to that in 29 healthy control women. The extent of malnutrition was characterized by BMI and plasma leptin. Psychological distress and eating disorder specific-psychopathology was determined with the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised and the Eating Disorders Inventory-2.
ppE gene expression was similar in all 3 groups and was not related to nutritional status or eating disorder symptoms. However, a significant negative correlation was found between ppE expression and obsessive-compulsive, depressive and anxious symptoms. In addition, ppE expression was higher in smokers compared to non-smokers.
Although malnutrition and hypoleptinaemia as seen in patients with AN were not related to peripheral ppE expression, we demonstrated reduced ppE expression in patients with elevated psychological distress. Similar associations have been shown in animal models of stress. It remains speculative if psychological symptoms and/or stress may augment immune abnormalities in AN patients via a pathway that is independent of nutritional status and involves ppE.
前强啡肽原（ppE）及其衍生肽参与白细胞功能，以及饥饿和饱腹感的调节。厌食症（AN）等营养不良状态下，已经描述了免疫系统和内分泌系统的各种异常。我们假设，ppE 在 AN 患者中的表达可能因疾病状态和营养不良程度而异。
分析了 29 名体重不足和 29 名体重恢复的 AN 患者以及 29 名健康对照女性的外周血单个核细胞中 ppE mRNA 的表达，并与对照组进行了比较。营养状况的严重程度通过 BMI 和血浆瘦素来确定。心理困扰和特定于饮食障碍的精神病理学采用症状清单-90-修订版和饮食障碍问卷-2 进行评估。
ppE 基因表达在所有 3 组中相似，与营养状况或饮食障碍症状无关。然而，ppE 表达与强迫性、抑郁性和焦虑性症状呈显著负相关。此外，与非吸烟者相比，吸烟者的 ppE 表达更高。
尽管 AN 患者中存在的营养不良和低瘦素血症与外周 ppE 表达无关，但我们发现心理困扰程度较高的患者 ppE 表达降低。在应激的动物模型中也观察到了类似的关联。心理症状和/或应激是否可以通过独立于营养状况且涉及 ppE 的途径增强 AN 患者的免疫异常，目前仍存在推测。
