Department of Medical Psychology and Psychiatry, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, V. Babes St. No. 43, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Department of Neurology, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Josef-Schneider Street No. 11, 97080 Wuerzburg, Germany.
Acta Neuropsychiatr. 2023 Feb;35(1):5-26. doi: 10.1017/neu.2022.22. Epub 2022 Aug 22.
A better understanding of the genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its association with neuroplasticity could play a pivotal role in finding future therapeutic targets for novel drugs in major depressive disorder (MDD). Because there are conflicting results regarding the exact role of BDNF polymorphisms in MDD still, we set out to systematically review the current evidence regarding BDNF-related mutations in MDD.
We conducted a keyword-guided search of the PubMed and Embase databases, using 'BDNF' or 'brain-derived neurotrophic factor' and 'major depressive disorder' and 'single-nucleotide polymorphism'. We included all publications in line with our exclusion and inclusion criteria that focused on BDNF-related mutations in the context of MDD.
Our search yielded 427 records in total. After screening and application of our eligibility criteria, 71 studies were included in final analysis. According to present overall scientific data, there is a possibly major pathophysiological role for BDNF neurotrophic systems to play in MDD. However, on the one hand, the synthesis of evidence makes clear that likely no overall association of BDNF-related mutations with MDD exists. On the other hand, it can be appreciated that solidifying evidence emerged on specific significant sub-conditions and stratifications based on various demographic, clinico-phenotypical and neuromorphological variables.
Further research should elucidate specific BDNF-MDD associations based on demographic, clinico-phenotypical and neuromorphological variables. Furthermore, biomarker approaches, specifically combinatory ones, involving BDNF should be further investigated.
深入了解脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）的遗传、分子和细胞机制及其与神经可塑性的关联，可能对于寻找治疗重度抑郁症（MDD）的新型药物的未来治疗靶点具有关键作用。由于关于 BDNF 多态性在 MDD 中的确切作用仍存在相互矛盾的结果，因此我们着手系统地综述目前关于 MDD 中与 BDNF 相关的突变的证据。
我们使用“BDNF”或“脑源性神经营养因子”和“重度抑郁症”和“单核苷酸多态性”作为关键词，对 PubMed 和 Embase 数据库进行了引导式搜索。我们纳入了所有符合我们排除和纳入标准的出版物，这些出版物侧重于 MDD 背景下与 BDNF 相关的突变。
我们的搜索共产生了 427 条记录。经过筛选和应用我们的纳入标准，最终有 71 项研究纳入了分析。根据目前的整体科学数据，BDNF 神经营养系统在 MDD 中可能具有重要的病理生理学作用。然而，一方面，证据的综合表明，BDNF 相关突变与 MDD 之间可能不存在总体关联。另一方面，我们可以认识到，基于各种人口统计学、临床表型和神经形态学变量，出现了特定显著亚条件和分层的更确凿证据。
应根据人口统计学、临床表型和神经形态学变量进一步研究特定的 BDNF-MDD 关联。此外，应进一步研究涉及 BDNF 的生物标志物方法，特别是组合方法。
