Higher serum VGF protein levels discriminate bipolar depression from major depressive disorder

Abstract

Misdiagnosis between major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar depression (BD) is quite common. Our previous study found significantly lower serum VGF (non‐acronymic) in MDD patients. However, it is unclear whether same changes occur in BD patients. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the relationship between serum VGF levels in BD and MDD patients. General information, scores of 17‐item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), and fasting blood samples of all participants including 30 MDD patients, 20 BD patients, and 30 healthy controls (HC) were collected. Serum VGF levels were measured by Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay kits. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze correlations between serum VGF levels and clinical information. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and likelihood ratios (LRs) were used to analyze the differential potential of serum VGF. Serum VGF levels were significantly lower in MDD patients but higher in BD patients compared with HC (both PTukey < 0.01). No correlation was found between serum VGF levels and any data of subjects. The optimal cutoff for serum VGF in discriminating BD patients from MDD patients was ≥1093.85 pg/ml (AUC = 0.990, sensitivity of 95%, specificity of 100% and accuracy of 95%). LRs further confirmed the differential efficiency of serum VGF in distinguishing BD and MDD patients with +LR of infinity and –LR of 0. The results suggest that serum VGF level changed significantly in MDD and BD patients and serum VGF may be an indicator for differentiating BD patients from MDD patients.

VGF Expression by Monocytes in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Vascular Dementia

“…In this context, it is interesting to note that serum VGF levels were significantly lower in patients with major depressive disorder than in bipolar depression (BD) patients, but higher in BD patients compared to healthy control individuals. No correlation was found between serum VGF levels and any data of persons (Chen et al, 2019).…”

Transcriptional Activity of Neurotrophins Genes and Their Receptors in the Peripheral Blood in Patients with Thyroid Diseases in Bukovinian Population of Ukraine

“…For instance, in patients with the major depressive disorder who were drug-free for at least 2 weeks, VGF mRNA levels in leukocytes were significantly reduced, by approximately 50%, compared to healthy subjects [62]. In another study, VGF levels in serum and prefrontal cortex decreased in patients with the major depressive disorder [63]. In this study, patients with hypothyroidism as a result of AIT and post-operative hypothyroidism VGF expression was reduced, while it was significantly increased in the group of AIT patients with elevated serum autoantibodies, such as anti-Tg and anti-TPO.…”

A serum proteomic study of two case-control cohorts identifies novel biomarkers for bipolar disorder

“…Previous blood-based proteomic studies have identified aberrations in several inflammatory markers, neurotrophins, and oxidative stress markers [ 10 ]. Some studies have developed composite biomarker panels aiming at distinguishing between psychiatric disorders [ 7 , 11 – 15 ] or classifying mood states [ 16 , 17 ]. One study derived a promising biomarker panel for the classification of both pre-diagnostic and misdiagnosed cases with bipolar disorder [ 18 ] but no diagnostic biomarkers have yet been validated for clinical use.…”