Blood Gene Expression Profiles Distinguish MDD Patients

A set of seven genes in whole blood distinguished unmedicated major depressive disorder (MDD) patients from healthy controls.

Dutch scientists evaluated blood gene-expression profiles in healthy individuals and patients diagnosed with MDD. Using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated blood gene expression and whole-genome microarrays, a set of genes was identified (CAPRIN1, CLEC4A, KRT23, MLC1, PLSCR1, PROK2, ZBTB16) that serves as a molecular signature of MDD.

The study was performed by scientists from Vrije Universiteit (VU; Amsterdam, the Netherlands) and colleagues. It was published in the July 15, 2010 edition of the journal Biological Psychiatry. Dr. Sabine Spijker, corresponding author of the study, commented, "This is a first, but major step in providing a molecular diagnostic tool for depression."

Psychiatry is one area of medicine where there are few diagnostic blood tests. MDD is a moderately heritable disorder with high lifetime prevalence. At present, laboratory blood tests to support MDD diagnosis are not available.

Although psychiatry already has specific criteria for diagnosing mental health disorders, diagnosis based on blood gene-expression profiles would be unbiased and particularly valuable for those with whom it is more difficult to have a conversation. It might also eventually assist in reducing the stigma associated with mental health problems
The authors wrote, "We have shown for the first time that molecular analysis of stimulated blood cells can be used as an endophenotype for MDD diagnosis, which is a milestone in establishing biomarkers for neuropsychiatric disorders with moderate heritability in general." They claimed that their results could lead to new methods for prediction of severity and recurrence of MDD, as well as predicting treatment outcome.

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