Blood plasma/IgG N-glycome biosignatures associated with major depressive disorder symptom severity and the antidepressant response.

While N-linked glycosylation has been extensively studied in the context of inflammatory and metabolic disorders, its relationship with major depressive disorder (MDD) and antidepressant treatment response has not been investigated. In our exploratory study, we analysed N-glycan profiles in blood plasma samples collected from MDD patients (n = 18) and found gender-dependent correlations with severity of depressive symptoms prior to initiating antidepressant treatment. In addition, several N-glycosylation traits showed gender-dependent associations with clinical antidepressant response. Follow up proteomics analysis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected from MDD patients (n = 20) identified baseline and post-antidepressant treatment pathway differences between responder and non-responder patients. Reactome data analysis further delineated potential biological reaction differences between responder and non-responder patients. Our preliminary results suggest that specific glycosylation traits are associated with depressive symptom severity and antidepressant response and may be of use as biomarkers.