Could peripheral 5-HT level be used as a biomarker for depression diagnosis and treatment? A narrative minireview

Canye Li; Qiming Cai; Zuanjun Su; Zhicong Chen; Jinming Cao; Feng Xu

doi:10.3389/fphar.2023.1149511

Could peripheral 5-HT level be used as a biomarker for depression diagnosis and treatment? A narrative minireview

Front Pharmacol. 2023 Mar 7:14:1149511. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1149511. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Canye Li¹, Qiming Cai², Zuanjun Su¹, Zhicong Chen¹, Jinming Cao¹, Feng Xu^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Fengxian Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shanghai, China.
² Sixth People's Hospital South Campus, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

The serotonin hypothesis of depression is still influential, but the relationship between peripheral 5-HT levels and depression is still unknown. This review aimed to verify whether peripheral 5-HT levels could be used as a biomarker for depression diagnosis and treatment. PubMed and EMBASE were searched using terms appropriate to the area of research. Articles from 1957 to 2022 in the following terms were identified: depression, 5-HT, serotonin and peripheral (serum, plasma, blood platelets). 33 studies were included: seven clinical trials about periphery 5-HT levels in depressive patients compared to normal subjects, 15 clinical trials about changes of peripheral 5-HT levels in patients with depression after drug treatment and 11 animal experiments about peripheral 5-HT levels in animal models of depression. Peripheral 5-HT levels presented three different outcomes before and after antidepressant treatments: increased, decreased and no significant change. In conclusion, changes in peripheral 5-HT levels did not show consistent results among these studies. Peripheral 5-HT level could not be used as a biomarker both for depression diagnosis and for antidepressant efficacy evaluation.

Keywords: 5-HT; biomarker; depression; peripheral; plasma; platelet.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

We are grateful to the Sixth People’s Hospital South Campus, Shanghai Jiaotong University and Shanghai Municipal Science Commission, for providing the funding to perform this project. [Grant number 19411971700].