Differentially expressed genes related to major depressive disorder and antidepressant response: genome-wide gene expression analysis

• Published in: Experimental & molecular medicine Vol. 50; no. 8; pp. 1 - 11
• Main Authors: Woo, Hye In, Lim, Shinn-Won, Myung, Woojae, Kim, Doh Kwan, Lee, Soo-Youn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.08.2018; Springer Nature B.V; Nature Publishing Group; 생화학분자생물학회
• Subjects: 38/39; 692/308/2056; 692/53/2423; Aged; Antidepressants; Antidepressive Agents - pharmacology; Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use; Apoptosis; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Case-Control Studies; CD58 antigen; Cluster Analysis; Depressive Disorder, Major - drug therapy; Depressive Disorder, Major - genetics; DNA damage; DNA microarrays; Female; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects; Gene Regulatory Networks; Genome, Human; Genomes; Humans; Immune response; Male; Medical Biochemistry; Mental depression; Middle Aged; Mirtazapine - pharmacology; Mirtazapine - therapeutic use; Molecular Medicine; Patients; Peripheral blood; Serotonin uptake inhibitors; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors - pharmacology; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Stem Cells; Treatment Outcome; 생화학
• ISSN: 1226-3613; 2092-6413; 2092-6413
• DOI: 10.1038/s12276-018-0123-0

Treatment response to antidepressants is limited and varies among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). To discover genes and mechanisms related to the pathophysiology of MDD and antidepressant treatment response, we performed gene expression analyses using peripheral blood specimens from 38 MDD patients and 14 healthy individuals at baseline and at 6 weeks after the initiation of either selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or mirtazapine treatment. The results were compared with results from public microarray data. Seven differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between MDD patients and controls were identified in our study and in the public microarray data: CD58 , CXCL8 , EGF , TARP , TNFSF4 , ZNF583 , and ZNF587 . CXCL8 was among the top 10 downregulated genes in both studies. Eight genes related to SSRI responsiveness, including BTNL8 , showed alterations in gene expression in MDD. The expression of the FCRL6 gene differed between SSRI responders and nonresponders and changed after SSRI treatment compared to baseline. In evaluating the response to mirtazapine, 21 DEGs were identified when comparing MDD patients and controls and responders and nonresponders. These findings suggest that the pathophysiology of MDD and treatment response to antidepressants are associated with a number of processes, including DNA damage and apoptosis, that can be induced by immune activation and inflammation. Depression: genes involved in illness and drug response Differences in the expression of several genes before and after different antidepressant treatments were found in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), and may help identify patients most likely to benefit from specific drugs. Researchers in South Korea led by Doh Kwan Kim and Soo-Youn Lee at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, examined gene expression across the 28,869 genes in 38 patients with MDD and 14 healthy individuals. They also validated their findings using existing databases of gene expression in patients with MDD and healthy controls. The research suggests that genes involved in the immune response and inflammation are significantly alternated in MDD and are predictable in which patients respond well to antidepressants. These findings may help develop new approaches to antidepressant therapies, and assist tailoring of treatment to the specific needs of different patients.