title: Cytokines and serotonin transporter in patients with major depression.
abstract: Altered cytokine secretion as a mechanism in the etiology of depression is still obscure. The serotonin transporter (5-HTT) may play an important role in the termination of serotonergic neurotransmission by serotonin (5-HT) uptaking into presynaptic neurons and representing as an initial action site for selective 5-HTT reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). In our study, we evaluated whether cytokines and 5-HTT acted as biological markers for depression. Blood samples were collected from 42 participants. The differences in cytokine and 5-HTT mRNA expressions of leukocytes were assessed between the patients with major depression (n=20) and the healthy controls (n=22), along with the measurements prior and after treatment with a SSRI, fluoxetine, for 3 months in the follow-up patient group (n=8). The results revealed that the mRNA expressions of IL-1beta, IL-6, IFNgamma, TNFalpha, and 5-HTT were higher in the depressed patients than those of the healthy controls. The higher level of mRNA expressions of IFNgamma and 5-HTT diminished after fluoxetine treatment. Furthermore, we found a positive correlation between 5-HTT and cytokines mRNA expressions in total participants, which suggested that pro-inflammatory cytokines and 5-HTT might play critical roles in the pathogenesis of major depression and that their levels were affected by chronic treatment with 5-HTT inhibitors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Chung Hwa College of Medical Technology, Tainan County, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chiung-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Tsao
authors.forename: Yee-Shin
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Chwen-Cheng
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chyi-Huey
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Shin-Rung
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D017931:DNA Primers; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009000:Monocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D017931:DNA Primers; D005473:Fluoxetine; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors