title: Gene expression and association analysis of vascular endothelial growth factor in major depressive disorder.
abstract: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been implicated in neuronal survival, neuroprotection, regeneration, growth, differentiation, and axonal outgrowth, which are known to be involved in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Recently, the VEGF mRNA expression in the peripheral leukocytes from Alzheimer's disease or cardiovascular disease was reported to be changed. We hypothesized that the expression of the VEGF mRNA in the peripheral leukocytes may be a good candidate for the biological marker for MDD. Thirty two patients with MDD and age- and sex-matched control subjects were included in this expression study. The VEGF mRNA levels in the peripheral leukocytes from drug-naive MDD patients were significantly higher than those from the control subjects and the magnitude of the decrease of VEGF mRNA after 8-week treatment significantly correlated with clinical improvement. Then, we genotyped two single nucleotide polymorphic markers of VEGF gene, which were reported to be associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, in patients with MDD and control subjects (n=154, each). We did not find any significant association between these markers and MDD or its clinical subtypes. Our investigation indicates that the higher expression levels of VEGF mRNA in the peripheral leukocytes are associated with the depressive state and their recovery after treatment may be associated with the clinical improvement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Course of Integrated Brain Sciences, Medical Informatics, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, 3-18-15 Kuramoto, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun-Ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Iga
authors.forename: Shu-Ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamauchi
authors.forename: Shusuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Numata
authors.forename: Sumiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tayoshi-Shibuya
authors.forename: Sawako
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kinouchi
authors.forename: Masahito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakataki
authors.forename: Hongwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hokoishi
authors.forename: Hirotaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohmori
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017374:Paroxetine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D017374:Paroxetine