IMPORTANCE Observational studies highlight associations of C-reactive protein (CRP), a general marker of inflammation, and interleukin 6 (IL-6), a cytokine-stimulating CRP production, with individual depressive symptoms. However, it is unclear whether inflammatory activity is associated with individual depressive symptoms and to what extent metabolic dysregulation underlies the reported associations. OBJECTIVE To explore the genetic overlap and associations between inflammatory activity, metabolic dysregulation, and individual depressive symptoms. GWAS DATA SOURCES Genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary data of European individuals, including the following: CRP levels (204 402 individuals); 9 individual depressive symptoms (3 of which did not differentiate between underlying diametrically opposite symptoms [eg, insomnia and hypersomnia]) as measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (up to 117 907 individuals); summary statistics for major depression, including and excluding UK Biobank participants, resulting in sample sizes of 500 199 and up to 230 214 individuals, respectively; insomnia (up to 386 533 individuals); body mass index (BMI) (up to 322 154 individuals); and height (up to 253 280 individuals). DESIGN In this genetic correlation and 2-sample mendelian randomization (MR) study, linkage disequilibrium score (LDSC) regression was applied to infer single-nucleotide variant-based heritability and genetic correlation estimates. Two-sample MR tested potential causal associations of genetic variants associated with CRP levels, IL-6 signaling, and BMI with depressive symptoms. The study dates were November 2019 to April 2020. RESULTS Based on large GWAS data sources, genetic correlation analyses revealed consistent false discovery rate (FDR)-controlled associations (genetic correlation range, 0.152-0.362; FDR P = .006 to P < .001) between CRP levels and depressive symptoms that were similar in size to genetic correlations of BMI with depressive symptoms. Two-sample MR analyses suggested that genetic upregulation of IL-6 signaling was associated with suicidality (estimate [SE], 0.035 [0.010]; FDR plus Bonferroni correction P = .01), a finding that remained stable across statistical models and sensitivity analyses using alternative instrument selection strategies. Mendelian randomization analyses did not consistently show associations of higher CRP levels or IL-6 signaling with other depressive symptoms, but higher BMI was associated with anhedonia, tiredness, changes in appetite, and feelings of inadequacy. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study reports coheritability between CRP levels and individual depressive symptoms, which may result from the potentially causal association of metabolic dysregulation with anhedonia, tiredness, changes in appetite, and feelings of inadequacy. The study also found that IL-6 signaling is associated with suicidality. These findings may have clinical implications, highlighting the potential of anti-inflammatory approaches, especially IL-6 blockade, as a putative strate...

Chronic activation and dysregulation of the neuroendocrine stress response have severe physiological and psychological consequences, including the development of metabolic and stress-related psychiatric disorders. We provide the first unbiased, cell type–specific, molecular characterization of all three components of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, under baseline and chronic stress conditions. Among others, we identified a previously unreported subpopulation of Abcb1b+ cells involved in stress adaptation in the adrenal gland. We validated our findings in a mouse stress model, adrenal tissues from patients with Cushing’s syndrome, adrenocortical cell lines, and peripheral cortisol and genotyping data from depressed patients. This extensive dataset provides a valuable resource for researchers and clinicians interested in the organism’s nervous and endocrine responses to stress and the interplay between these tissues. Our findings raise the possibility that modulating ABCB1 function may be important in the development of treatment strategies for patients suffering from metabolic and stress-related psychiatric disorders.

No abstract

No abstract

Introduction Pharmacogenetic testing is proposed to minimize adverse effects when considered in combination with pharmacological knowledge of the drug. As yet, limited studies in clinical settings have investigated the predictive value of pharmacokinetic (pk) gene variation on therapeutic drug levels as a probable mechanism of adverse effects, nor considered the combined effect of pk gene variation and drug level on antidepressant treatment response. Methods Two depression cohorts were investigated for the relationship between pk gene variation and antidepressant serum concentrations of amitriptyline, venlafaxine, mirtazapine and quetiapine, as well as treatment response. For the analysis, 519 patients (49% females; 46.6±14.1 years) were included. Results Serum concentration of amitriptyline was associated with CYP2D6 (higher concentrations in poor metabolizers compared to normal metabolizers), of venlafaxine with CYP2C19 (higher concentrations in intermediate metabolizers compared to rapid/ultrarapid metabolizers) and CYP2D6 (lower metabolite-to-parent ratio in poor compared to intermediate and normal metabolizers, and intermediate compared to normal and ultrarapid metabolizers). Pk gene variation did not affect treatment response. Discussion The present data support previous recommendations to reduce starting doses of amitriptyline and to guide dose-adjustments via therapeutic drug monitoring in CYP2D6 poor metabolizers. In addition, we propose including CYP2C19 in routine testing in venlafaxine-treated patients to improve therapy by raising awareness of the risk of low serum concentrations in CYP2C19 rapid/ultrarapid metabolizers. In summary, pk gene variation can predict serum concentrations, and thus the combination of pharmacogenetic testing and therapeutic drug monitoring is a useful tool in a personalized therapy approach for depression.

As we identify with characters on screen, we simulate their emotions and thoughts. This is accompanied by physiological changes such as galvanic skin response (GSR), an indicator for emotional arousal, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), referring to vagal activity. We investigated whether the presence of a cinema audience affects these psychophysiological processes. The study was conducted in a real cinema in Berlin. Participants came twice to watch previously rated emotional film scenes eliciting amusement, anger, tenderness or fear. Once they watched the scenes alone, once in a group. We tested whether the vagal modulation in response to the mere presence of others influences explicit (reported) and implicit markers (RSA, heart rate (HR) and GSR) of emotional processes in function of solitary or collective enjoyment of movie scenes. On the physiological level, we found a mediating effect of vagal flexibility to the mere presence of others. Individuals showing a high baseline difference (alone vs. social) prior to the presentation of film, maintained higher RSA in the alone compared to the social condition. The opposite pattern emerged for low baseline difference individuals. Emotional arousal as reflected in GSR was significantly more pronounced during scenes eliciting anger independent of the social condition. On the behavioural level, we found evidence for emotion-specific effects on reported empathy, emotional intensity and Theory of Mind. Furthermore, people who decrease their RSA in response to others’ company are those who felt themselves more empathically engaged with the characters. Our data speaks in favour of a specific role of vagal regulation in response to the mere presence of others in terms of explicit empathic engagement with characters during shared filmic experience.

BackgroundAbout every fourth patient with major depressive disorder (MDD) shows evidence of systemic inflammation. Previous studies have shown inflammation-depression associations of multiple serum inflammatory markers and multiple specific depressive symptoms. It remains unclear, however, if these associations extend to genetic/lifetime predisposition to higher inflammatory marker levels and what role metabolic factors such as Body Mass Index (BMI) play. It is also unclear whether inflammation-symptom associations reflect direct or indirect associations, which can be disentangled using network analysis.MethodsThis study examined associations of polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for immuno-metabolic markers (C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin [IL]-6, IL-10, tumour necrosis factor [TNF]-α, BMI) with seven depressive symptoms in one general population sample, the UK Biobank study (n=110,010), and two patient samples, the Munich Antidepressant Response Signature (MARS, n=1,058) and Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D, n=1,143) studies. Network analysis was applied jointly for these samples using fused graphical least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (FGL) estimation as primary analysis and, individually, using unregularized model search estimation. Stability of results was assessed using bootstrapping and three quality criteria were defined to appraise consistency of results across estimation methods, network bootstrapping, and samples.ResultsNetwork analysis results displayed to-be-expected PRS-PRS and symptom-symptom associations (termed edges), respectively, that were mostly positive. Using FGL estimation, results further suggested 28, 29, and six PRS-symptom edges in MARS, STAR*D, and UK Biobank samples, respectively. Unregularized model search estimation suggested three PRS-symptom edges in the UK Biobank sample. Applying our quality criteria to these associations indicated that only the association of higher CRP PRS with greater changes in appetite fulfilled all three criteria. Four additional associations fulfilled at least two quality criteria; specifically, higher CRP PRS was associated with greater fatigue and reduced anhedonia, higher TNF-α PRS was associated with greater fatigue, and higher BMI PRS with greater changes in appetite and anhedonia. Associations of the BMI PRS with anhedonia, however, showed an inconsistent valence across estimation methods.ConclusionsOur findings align with previous studies suggesting that systemic inflammatory markers are primarily associated with somatic/neurovegetative symptoms of depression such as changes in appetite and fatigue. We extend these findings by providing evidence that associations are direct (using network analysis) and extend to genetic predisposition to immuno-metabolic markers (using PRSs). Our findings can inform selection of patients with inflammation-related symptoms into clinical trials of immune-modulating drugs for MDD.

Improving response and remission rates in major depressive disorder (MDD) remains an important challenge. Matching patients to the treatment they will most likely respond to should be the ultimate goal. Even though numerous studies have investigated patient-specific indicators of treatment efficacy, no (bio)markers or empirical tests for use in clinical practice have resulted as of now. Therefore, clinical decisions regarding the treatment of MDD still have to be made on the basis of questionnaire- or interview-based assessments and general guidelines without the support of a (laboratory) test. We conducted a narrative review of current approaches to characterize and predict outcome to pharmacological treatments in MDD. We particularly focused on findings from newer computational studies using machine learning and on the resulting implementation into clinical decision support systems. The main issues seem to rest upon the unavailability of robust predictive variables and the lacking application of empirical findings and predictive models in clinical practice. We outline several challenges that need to be tackled on different stages of the translational process, from current concepts and definitions to generalizable prediction models and their successful implementation into digital support systems. By bridging the addressed gaps in translational psychiatric research, advances in data quantity and new technologies may enable the next steps toward precision psychiatry.