Altered glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) concentrations in the brain of patients with depressive disorder: a comparative post-mortem study.
BACKGROUND
A growing body of evidence suggests that the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is involved in the aetiopathology of mood disorders. GDNF is a neurotrophic factor from the transforming growth factor-beta-family, playing a role in cell development and function in the limbic system. This is the first study to examine GDNF concentration in different brain regions of patients with depressive disorder (DD).


METHODS
We used sandwich-ELISA-technique to ascertain GDNF concentration and Lowry assay for overall protein levels in post-mortem brain tissue of 7 patients with recurrent depressive disorder and 14 individuals without any neurological or psychiatric diagnoses. We included cortical regions as well as limbic area's (hippocampus, entorhinal cortex) basal ganglia (putamen, caudate nucleus), thalamus and cingulated gyrus.


RESULTS
We found a significant increase in GDNF concentration in the parietal cortex of patients with DD compared to the control group. In other regions the trend of an increased GDNF concentration did not reach statistical difference.


CONCLUSIONS
This proof of concept study supports previous findings of an alteration of the GDNF in patients with depressive disorder. However, for the first time a significant increase of GDNF in a cortical brain area was found in DD.
Michel
Tanja M
TM
RWTH Aachen University, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany. tmichel@ukaachen.de
Frangou
Sophia
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Camara
Sibylle
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Thiemeyer
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Jecel
Julia
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Tatschner
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Zoechling
Robert
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Grünblatt
Edna
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