Decreased levels of whole blood glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in remitted patients with mood disorders

• Published in: The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology Vol. 9; no. 5; pp. 607 - 612
• Main Authors: Takebayashi, Minoru, Hisaoka, Kazue, Nishida, Akira, Tsuchioka, Mami, Miyoshi, Izuru, Kozuru, Tosirou, Hikasa, Satoshi, Okamoto, Yasumasa, Shinno, Hideto, Morinobu, Shigeru, Yamawaki, Shigeto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.10.2006; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Analysis of Variance; Antidepressive Agents - pharmacology; Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use; Antimanic Agents - pharmacology; Antimanic Agents - therapeutic use; Brief Report; Female; Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor - blood; Humans; Lithium Chloride - pharmacology; Lithium Chloride - therapeutic use; Male; Middle Aged; Mood Disorders - blood; Mood Disorders - classification; Mood Disorders - drug therapy; Transforming Growth Factor beta - blood; transforming growth factor (TGF); whole blood; GDNF; mood disorders
• ISSN: 1461-1457; 1469-5111
• DOI: 10.1017/S1461145705006085

Recent post-mortem and imaging studies provide evidence for a glial reduction in different brain areas in mood disorders. This study was aimed to test whether glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a member of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily, in blood levels was associated with mood disorders. We measured GDNF and TGF-β levels in whole blood in remitted patients with mood disorders [n=56; major depressive disorders (MDD) 39, bipolar disorders (BD) 17] and control subjects (n=56). GDNF and TGF-β were assayed with the sandwich ELISA method. Total GDNF levels were significantly lower in MDD and in BD than in control subjects (MDD, p=0.0003; BD, p=0.018), while no significant difference in total TGF-β1 or total TGF-β2 levels was found in these groups. Our study suggests that lower GDNF levels might be involved in the pathophysiology of mood disorders, although this preliminary study has several limitations.