Elfving Betina, Buttenschøn Henriette N, Foldager Leslie, Poulsen Pia H P, Grynderup Matias B, Hansen Åse M, Kolstad Henrik A, Kaerlev Linda, Mikkelsen Sigurd, Børglum Anders D, Wegener Gregers, Mors Ole
Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine,Aarhus University,Denmark.
Danish Ramazzini Centre, Department of Occupational Medicine,Aarhus University Hospital,Denmark.
Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2014 Sep;17(9):1409-17. doi: 10.1017/S1461145714000273. Epub 2014 Mar 17.
Recent studies suggest that the angiogenic cytokine vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is involved in the pathogenesis of depression. However, only a few studies have investigated serum VEGF levels in individuals with depression, or the possible association between genetic variants within the VEGF gene and depression. The purpose of the present study was to investigate differences between serum VEGF levels in individuals with depression vs. control individuals, and associations between genetic markers located within VEGF and depression. In addition, determinants of the serum VEGF levels were identified. One-hundred and fifty-five depressed subjects and 280 controls were included in the study. All individuals returned a questionnaire and participated in a semi-structured diagnostic interview. Eleven single nucleotide polymorphisms were successfully analysed. VEGF levels were measured in serum by immunoassay and independent determinants of the serum VEGF level were assessed by generalized linear models.The main findings were that depression, severity of depression, previous depressive episodes, age and body mass index (BMI) were associated with higher serum VEGF levels. The genetic marker rs10434 was significantly associated with depression after correction for multiple testing, but not with the serum VEGF level. Our final model included depression and BMI as predictors of serum VEGF levels. Our study suggests a role for circulating serum VEGF in depression. Furthermore, our data also demonstrate that other factors than a diagnosis of depression influence the serum VEGF level. The importance of these factors should be emphasized when studies are compared.
近期研究表明，血管生成细胞因子血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）参与了抑郁症的发病机制。然而，仅有少数研究调查过抑郁症患者的血清VEGF水平，或VEGF基因内的基因变异与抑郁症之间的可能关联。本研究的目的是调查抑郁症患者与对照个体血清VEGF水平的差异，以及VEGF基因内的基因标记与抑郁症之间的关联。此外，还确定了血清VEGF水平的决定因素。该研究纳入了155名抑郁症患者和280名对照个体。所有个体均返回了一份问卷，并参与了一次半结构化诊断访谈。成功分析了11个单核苷酸多态性。通过免疫测定法测量血清中的VEGF水平，并通过广义线性模型评估血清VEGF水平的独立决定因素。主要发现为，抑郁症、抑郁严重程度、既往抑郁发作、年龄和体重指数（BMI）与较高的血清VEGF水平相关。经过多重检验校正后，基因标记rs10434与抑郁症显著相关，但与血清VEGF水平无关。我们的最终模型将抑郁症和BMI作为血清VEGF水平的预测指标。我们的研究表明循环血清VEGF在抑郁症中发挥作用。此外，我们的数据还表明，除抑郁症诊断外，其他因素也会影响血清VEGF水平。在比较研究时，应强调这些因素的重要性。
