The relationship between serum resolvin D1, NLRP3, cytokine levels, and adolescents with first-episode medication-naïve major depressive disorder

• Published in: BMC psychiatry Vol. 24; no. 1; p. 285
• Main Authors: Guo, Jiamei, Zhang, Tanwei, Chen, Wanjun, Tan, Jianyu, Li, Xiao, Zheng, Anhai, Fu, Yixiao, Qiu, Tian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 16.04.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Analysis; Antidepressants; Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use; Care and treatment; Child development; Cytokines; Depressive Disorder, Major - diagnosis; Depressive Disorder, Major - drug therapy; Diabetes; Diagnosis; Docosahexaenoic Acids; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Fatty acids; Fluoxetine; Fluoxetine - therapeutic use; Gender; Gene expression; Health aspects; Health care; Humans; IL-1β; Inflammation; Inflammation - drug therapy; Interleukin 18; Interleukin 4; Interleukin-4 - therapeutic use; Major depressive disorder; Medication-naïve; Mental depression; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; NLRP3; Patient outcomes; Patients; Physiology, Pathological; Psychological aspects; Psychotherapy; Resolvin D1; Serum levels; Social aspects; Substance abuse treatment; Teenagers; Youth; China; Medication-naïve; NLRP3; Cytokines; Resolvin D1; Major depressive disorder; Adolescent
• ISSN: 1471-244X; 1471-244X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12888-024-05724-0

Inflammation has become a critical pathological mechanism of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). NLRP3 is a critical inflammatory pathway to maintain the immune balance. Recently, preclinical evidence showed that Resolvin D1 might potentially offer a new option for antidepressant treatment due to its protective effects through the inhibition of neuroinflammation. However, whether they have clinical value in the diagnosis and treatment evaluation of adolescent depression was unclear. Forty-eight untreated first-episode adolescent patients with moderate to severe major depressive disorder, as well as 30 healthy adolescents (HCs, age and gender-matched), were enrolled for this study. Their ages ranged from 13 to 18 (15.75 ± 1.36) years. The patients were treated with fluoxetine for 6-8 weeks. HDRS-17 was used to evaluate the severity of depressive symptoms. Venous blood samples were collected at baseline for the two groups and at the time-point of post-antidepressant treatment for the patients. Serum concentrations of RvD1, NLRP3, IL-1β, IL-18, and IL-4 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) pre- and post-fluoxetine treatment. Serum levels of RvD1 and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-4 were significantly elevated in adolescents with MDD compared to healthy adolescents, but no significant difference in NLRP3, IL-1β, and IL-18 between the two groups. Meanwhile, RvD1 (positively) and IL-4 (negatively) were correlated with the severity of symptoms (HDRS-17 scores) after adjusting age, gender, and BMI. Interestingly, fluoxetine treatment significantly reduced the serum levels of RvD1, NLRP3, IL-1β, and IL-18 in MDD adolescents but increased the levels of IL-4 relative to baseline. Furthermore, we observed that serum levels of RvD1 might be an excellent distinguishing indicator for depression and healthy adolescents. Our study is the first to compare RvD1 and NLRP3 between adolescent MDD and HCs. Our findings of reactive increase of RvD1 in adolescent MDD comprised a novel and critical contribution. Our results showed the presence of inflammation resolution unbalanced in adolescents with MDD and indicated that RvD1 might be an ideal biomarker for diagnosing and treating adolescent MDD.