Department of Biomedical Sciences, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Psychiatry, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
J Affect Disord. 2024 Mar 1;348:229-237. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.12.071. Epub 2023 Dec 30.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent mental health condition with significant societal impact. Owing to the intricate biological diversity of MDD, treatment efficacy remains limited. Immune biomarkers have emerged as potential predictors of treatment response, underscoring the interaction between the immune system and the brain. This study investigated the relationship between cytokine levels and cortical thickness in patients with MDD, focusing on the corticolimbic circuit, to elucidate the influence of neuroinflammation on structural brain changes and contribute to a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of MDD.
A total of 114 patients with MDD and 101 healthy controls (HC) matched for age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) were recruited. All participants were assessed for depression severity using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), and 3.0 T T1 weighted brain MRI data were acquired. Additionally, cytokine levels were measured using a highly sensitive bead-based multiplex immunosorbent assay.
Patients diagnosed with MDD exhibited notably elevated levels of interleukin-6 (p = 0.005) and interleukin-8 (p = 0.005), alongside significant cortical thinning in the left anterior cingulate gyrus and left superior frontal gyrus, with these findings maintaining significance even after applying Bonferroni correction. Furthermore, increased interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 levels in patients with MDD are associated with alterations in the left frontomarginal gyrus and right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
This suggests a potential influence of neuroinflammation on right ACC function in MDD patients, warranting longitudinal research to explore interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 mediated neurotoxicity in MDD vulnerability and brain morphology changes.
重度抑郁症（MDD）是一种常见的精神健康疾病，对社会有重大影响。由于 MDD 的生物学多样性复杂，治疗效果仍然有限。免疫生物标志物已成为治疗反应的潜在预测因子，这突显了免疫系统和大脑之间的相互作用。本研究调查了 MDD 患者的细胞因子水平与皮质厚度之间的关系，重点关注皮质边缘回路，以阐明神经炎症对结构脑变化的影响，并深入了解 MDD 的病理生理学。
共招募了 114 名 MDD 患者和 101 名年龄、性别和体重指数（BMI）匹配的健康对照者（HC）。所有参与者均使用汉密尔顿抑郁评定量表（HDRS）评估抑郁严重程度，采集 3.0T T1 加权脑 MRI 数据。此外，还使用高灵敏度的基于珠的多重免疫吸附测定法测量细胞因子水平。
MDD 患者的白细胞介素-6（p=0.005）和白细胞介素-8（p=0.005）水平明显升高，左前扣带回和左额上回皮质变薄，这些发现甚至在应用 Bonferroni 校正后仍然具有显著性。此外，MDD 患者白细胞介素-6 和白细胞介素-8 水平升高与左额极和右前扣带皮质的变化有关。
这表明神经炎症可能对 MDD 患者右前扣带皮质功能有潜在影响，需要进行纵向研究来探索白细胞介素-6 和白细胞介素-8 介导的神经毒性在 MDD 易感性和脑形态变化中的作用。
