Cellular immunity and the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in major affective disorder: A preliminary study

• Published in: Psychiatry research Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: Darko, Denis F., Lucas, Alexander H., Christian Gillin, J., Craig Risch, S., Golshan, Shahrokh, Hamburger, Robert N., Bradley Silverman, M., Janowsky, David S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.07.1988; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adrenocorticotropic Hormone - blood; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aged; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; Biological and medical sciences; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; Depression; Depressive Disorder - immunology; Growth Hormone - blood; Humans; Hydrocortisone - blood; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System - physiopathology; immune cell function; Immune Tolerance; Immunity, Cellular; Interleukin-2 - biosynthesis; Killer Cells, Natural - immunology; Leukocyte Count; Lymphocyte Activation; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Mood disorders; neuroendocrine; neurohormone; Prolactin - blood; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychoneuroimmunology; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - immunology; immune cell function; Psychoneuroimmunology; neuroendocrine; depression; neurohormone; Human; Cell function; Depression; Cellular immunity; Lymphocyte; Cell subpopulation; Personality disorder
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/0165-1781(88)90152-7

To assess cellular immune status and the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in patients with major depression, we examined peripheral blood mononuclear cells and measured the plasma levels of four neurohormones. Eleven patients with major depression had increased % of T4 lymphocytes and decreased concanavalin (Con A) stimulated T lymphocyte proliferation when compared with 11 age-, sex-, and race-matched control subjects. Percent of total lymphocytes labeled as all T lymphocytes, all B lymphocytes, and natural killer cells did not differ in the two groups, nor did mitogen-induced interleukin-2 production. These findings support theories of interaction between depression and immune cell function.