Departement for Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria.
Departement for Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria.
J Affect Disord. 2021 Nov 1;294:441-446. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.07.021. Epub 2021 Jul 21.
The bidirectional connection between the brain and the gut within psychiatric entities has gained increasing scientific attention over the last years. As a regulator of intestinal permeability, zonulin acts as a key player on the interface of this interplay. Like several psychiatric disorders, intestinal permeability was associated with inflammation in previous findings.
In this study we explored differences in zonulin serum levels in currently depressed (n = 55) versus currently euthymic (n = 37) individuals with an affective disorder. Further, we explored sex differences and possible influences on zonulin and affective symptoms like medication, age, body mass index, and smoking status.
Serum zonulin was significantly higher in females than in men independent from affective status (z = -2.412, p = .016). More specifically, females in the euthymic subgroup had higher zonulin levels than euthymic men (z = -2.114, p = .035). There was no difference in zonulin serum levels in individuals taking or not taking a specific psychopharmacotherapy. We found no correlation between zonulin serum levels and depression severity.
Increased serum zonulin levels as a proxy for increased intestinal permeability in women may indicate a state of elevated susceptibility for depression-inducing stimuli.
近年来，精神疾病实体中大脑和肠道之间的双向联系引起了越来越多的科学关注。作为肠通透性的调节剂，紧密连接蛋白在这种相互作用的界面上起着关键作用。与几种精神疾病一样，肠通透性与炎症有关，这是之前的研究结果。
在这项研究中，我们探讨了目前处于抑郁状态（n=55）与目前处于缓解状态（n=37）的情感障碍患者之间血清紧密连接蛋白水平的差异。此外，我们还探讨了性别差异以及药物、年龄、体重指数和吸烟状况等因素对紧密连接蛋白和情感症状的可能影响。
无论情感状态如何，女性的血清紧密连接蛋白水平明显高于男性（z=-2.412，p=.016）。更具体地说，缓解期女性的紧密连接蛋白水平高于缓解期男性（z=-2.114，p=.035）。正在服用或未服用特定精神药物治疗的个体之间的紧密连接蛋白血清水平没有差异。我们发现紧密连接蛋白血清水平与抑郁严重程度之间没有相关性。
女性血清紧密连接蛋白水平升高，提示肠道通透性增加，可能表明其对诱发抑郁的刺激更敏感。
