Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Variations in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder Before and After Antidepressant Treatment

Lin Yao; LiHong Pan; Min Qian; Wei Sun; ChunHong Gu; LiangHu Chen; XiaoChen Tang; YeGang Hu; LiHua Xu; YanYan Wei; Li Hui; XiaoHua Liu; JiJun Wang; TianHong Zhang

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.518837

Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Variations in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder Before and After Antidepressant Treatment

Front Psychiatry. 2020 Dec 7:11:518837. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.518837. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Lin Yao¹, LiHong Pan¹, Min Qian¹, Wei Sun², ChunHong Gu¹, LiangHu Chen¹, XiaoChen Tang³, YeGang Hu³, LiHua Xu³, YanYan Wei⁴, Li Hui⁴, XiaoHua Liu³, JiJun Wang^{3

5

6}, TianHong Zhang³

Affiliations

¹ Nanhui Mental Health Center, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, China.
² Department of Neurosurgery, Pu Nan Hospital, Shanghai, China.
³ Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai, China.
⁴ Institute of Mental Health, Suzhou Guangji Hospital, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow University, Soochow University, Shanghai, China.
⁵ Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai, China.
⁶ Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) had been identified as a key pro-inflammatory cytokine in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) and the mechanism of antidepressant treatment. The primary aim of the present study was to examine the serum TNF-α levels in Chinese inpatients with MDD during the acute phase and to explore the changes in TNF-α levels after effective clinical treatment. Fifty-seven consecutive inpatients with MDD and 30 healthy controls were recruited. The serum TNF-α levels were detected using ELISA. Symptoms of depression were evaluated using the 24-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D-24). TNF-α levels and HAM-D-24 scores were assessed at baseline and after 2 and 12 weeks of follow-up. The serum TNF-α levels were higher in the MDD group than in the control group. After 2 and 12 weeks of antidepressant treatment, there were significant improvements in the patients' symptoms and significant decreases in the TNF-α levels. The baseline TNF-α levels significantly correlated with the decreased HAM-D-24 scores, particularly for the depressive symptoms of anxiety/somatization and weight loss. The present findings indicate that depression is accompanied by activation of TNF-α, which also has a predictive value for the antidepressant treatment response in patients with MDD.

Keywords: antidepressant; major depressive disorder; remission; serum; tumor necrosis factor-α.