Increased Levels of 5Ht2a Receptor Mrna Expression in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Patients With Major Depression: Correlations With Severity and Duration of Illness Publisher Pubmed



Amidfar M¹ ; Kim YK² ; Colic L³ ; Arbabi M⁴ ; Mobaraki G⁵ ; Hassanzadeh G^{1, 6} ; Walter M^{3, 7, 8, 9, 10}
Source: Nordic Journal of Psychiatry Published:2017

Abstract

Background: Neuroimaging, immunologic, and pharmacologic studies have emphasized the role of 5-HT2A and 5-HT3A serotonin receptors in the pathophysiology of major depression. Aim: The aim of this study was to measure the relative expression of 5-HT2A and 5-HT3A receptor mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Method: 5-HT2A and 5-HT3A receptor mRNA expressions were examined in PBMCs of 25 medication-naive-patients with MDD, 25 medication-free MDD patients, and 25 healthy controls. 5-HT2A and 5-HT3A receptor mRNA expressions were measured using real-time quantitative PCR. This study evaluated patients’ clinical symptoms using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 items (HDRS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Results: Relative 5-HTR2A mRNA expression was significantly higher in PBMCs of all MDD patients when compared with healthy controls (Z = −3.875, p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the relative levels of 5-HTR3A mRNA expression in PBMCs of all MDD patients when compared with healthy controls (Z = −1.328, p > 0.05). MDD patients showed significant correlations between 5-HTR2A mRNA expression and HDRS scores (rs = 0.902, p < 0.001) and BDI scores (rs = 0.878, p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study showed that depressed patients, irrespective of treatment, have higher 5-HTR2A mRNA levels in PBMCs than healthy subjects. It also provided evidence that 5-HTR2A mRNA levels in PBMCs of MDD patients could be associated with the severity of depression and the duration of the illness. © 2017 The Nordic Psychiatric Association.