Association of Serum Biomarker Levels and BDNF Gene Polymorphism with Response to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors in Indian Patients with Major Depressive Disorder

Abstract

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Depression is a major public health problem. Response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatment varies considerably between patients. In the context of polygenic diseases like depression, measurement of a panel of biomarkers involved in the pathophysiology of depression might help predict outcome to treatment with SSRIs. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> The objective was to establish the relationship between serum biomarker levels and the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) val66met polymorphism and response to SSRIs in patients with major depressive disorder. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> 50 patients with moderate to severe depression were recruited from the Department of Psychiatry, Sri Ra­machandra Institute of Higher Education and Research. Blood samples were collected, and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scoring was done at baseline and after 8 weeks of treatment with SSRIs. Baseline and post-treatment levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), BDNF and neuregulin 1β1 (NRG1β1) were analysed using commercially available ELISA kits. Genotyping of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism was performed using a PCR-RFLP method. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Following treatment, there was a significant decrease in the mean hsCRP and NRG1β1 levels and a significant increase in the mean BDNF level. Responders had significantly lower baseline hsCRP and higher baseline BDNF levels when compared to non-responders. Response rates were significantly higher in the Val/Val group when compared to the Val/Met group. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Baseline serum levels of hsCRP and BDNF predicted response to SSRIs in major depressive disorder, and Val/Val patients responded better when compared to patients carrying the Met allele.

The state of psychiatric research in the Asia Pacific region

“…Another emerging field is neuroscience (eg, biological markers, genetics, and neuroimaging) research (Patra & Kar, 2020; Ramesh, Venkatesan, Chellathai, & Silamban, 2020; E. Sharma, Vaidya, et al, 2020; Simpson et al, 2020; V. Singh, Mishra, Prajapati, Ampapathi, & Thakur, 2020), as well as research into newer treatment modalities and novel interventions such as yoga (Choudhary et al, 2019; Gandhi et al, 2019; Varambally, George, & Gangadhar, 2020).…”

A Bibliometric and Visual Analysis of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Studies in Depression

“…BDNF is a neuron that acts on the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and cerebellum [ 98 ]. It can play an essential role in the pathogenesis of depression by modulating neuronal and molecular proteins that affect the transmission of serotonin and dopamine [ 99 ]. The neurotrophic factor hypothesis indicates that a decrease in BDNF in the cortical and limbic regions of the brain is associated with depression [ 100 - 102 ].…”

BDNF, A Focus to Major Depression

“…Treatment with SSRI antidepressants has been shown to increase the expression of the BDNF gene in the hippocampus of animal models of stress [13,81,82] and, BDNF decreased may be one of the causes of atrophy of neurons vulnerable to stress in the hippocampus [62]. In this context, the SSRI was able to reverse the atrophy of this brain area [83] probably by a neurogenesis-dependent mechanism [84].…”

“…5-HT and BDNF are two signaling systems that perform regulatory functions in many neuronal functions, including survival, neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity [101]. And there are reports that the administration of SSRI antidepressants agents increases the expression of the BDNF gene [12,13,36,82,85,107]. And both acute and chronic administration of antidepressants promotes activation of TrkB [107].…”