The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Guangzhou Huiai Hospital), Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Translational Medicine of Mental Disorders, Guangzhou, China.
The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Guangzhou Huiai Hospital), Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Translational Medicine of Mental Disorders, Guangzhou, China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Material Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
J Affect Disord. 2021 May 15;287:327-333. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.03.036. Epub 2021 Mar 19.
Cytokines are involved in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment response. Efforts have been made to identify inflammatory markers but results are often contradictory. The present study explored the plasma levels of multiple cytokines in first-episode MDD using a longitudinal design, with the aim to determine the involvement of cytokines in depression and identify the inflammatory markers.
Fifty-four first-episode drug naïve MDD patients and 60 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled in this study. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) was administered and blood samples were collected at baseline and four-week posttreatment in MDD group, while blood samples were only collected once in HC group. Plasma levels of nineteen cytokines were examined by a multiplexed flow cytometric assay.
Sixteen out of 19 cytokines levels in MDD group were significantly higher than those in HC group (all P < 0.05). After 4-week of antidepressant treatment, levels of the 14 cytokines elevated at baseline decreased to normal levels (all P < 0.05). Partial correlation showed that baseline level of interferon-inducible T cell alpha chemoattractant (ITAC) was negatively correlated with reduction in HAMD-17 score (r=-0.319, p=0.020), and multiple regression showed lower baseline ITAC level was associated with better treatment response (p = 0.020).
The sample size was relatively small.
A range of cytokines were abnormal in patients with first-episode drug naïve MDD and most of the cytokines could be normalized after antidepressant treatment. Furthermore, baseline ITAC level could be a predictive factor of antidepressant response.
细胞因子参与重性抑郁障碍（MDD）的病理生理学和治疗反应。人们一直在努力识别炎症标志物，但结果往往相互矛盾。本研究采用纵向设计，探讨了首发未用药 MDD 患者的多种细胞因子的血浆水平，旨在确定细胞因子在抑郁中的作用，并确定炎症标志物。
本研究纳入了 54 例首发未用药 MDD 患者和 60 例健康对照者（HCs）。采用汉密尔顿抑郁量表 17 项（HAMD-17）进行评估，并在 MDD 组患者入组时和治疗 4 周后采集血样，而 HCs 仅采集一次血样。采用多重流式细胞术检测 19 种细胞因子的血浆水平。
MDD 组 19 种细胞因子中有 16 种的水平明显高于 HCs 组（均 P<0.05）。经过 4 周抗抑郁治疗后，基线升高的 14 种细胞因子水平降至正常水平（均 P<0.05）。偏相关分析显示，基线干扰素诱导的 T 细胞趋化因子（ITAC）水平与 HAMD-17 评分的降低呈负相关（r=-0.319，p=0.020），多元回归分析显示，较低的基线 ITAC 水平与更好的治疗反应相关（p=0.020）。
样本量相对较小。
首发未用药 MDD 患者存在多种细胞因子异常，大多数细胞因子在抗抑郁治疗后可恢复正常。此外，基线 ITAC 水平可能是抗抑郁反应的预测因素。
