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. 2015 Dec;3(1):20.
doi: 10.1186/s40345-015-0037-x. Epub 2015 Sep 17.

Inflammatory monocyte gene expression: trait or state marker in bipolar disorder?

K Becking  1   2 , B C M Haarman  3   4 , R F Riemersma van der Lek  5   6 , L Grosse  7 , W A Nolen  8 , S Claes  9 , H A Drexhage  10 , R A Schoevers  11   12
Affiliations

Inflammatory monocyte gene expression: trait or state marker in bipolar disorder?

K Becking et al. Int J Bipolar Disord. 2015 Dec.

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to examine whether inflammatory gene expression was a trait or a state marker in patients with bipolar disorder (BD).

Methods: 69 healthy controls (HC), 82 euthymic BD patients and 8 BD patients with a mood episode (7 depressed, 1 manic) were included from the MOODINFLAME study. Six of the eight patients who had a mood episode were also investigated when they were euthymic (6 of the 82 euthymic patients). Of these participants the expression of 35 inflammatory genes was determined in monocytes using quantitative-polymerase chain reaction, of which a total gene expression score was calculated as well as a gene expression score per sub-cluster.

Results: There were no significant differences in inflammatory monocyte gene expression between healthy controls and euthymic patients. Patients experiencing a mood episode, however, had a significantly higher total gene expression score (10.63 ± 2.58) compared to healthy controls (p = .004) and euthymic patients (p = .009), as well as when compared to their own scores when they were euthymic (p = .02). This applied in particular for the sub-cluster 1 gene expression score, but not for the sub-cluster 2 gene expression score.

Conclusions: Our study indicates that in BD inflammatory monocyte, gene expression is especially elevated while in a mood episode compared to being euthymic.

Keywords: Bipolar disorder; Gene expression; Mood episode; State; Trait.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Total monocyte gene expression score of healthy controls, euthymic and mood episode BD patients (N = 159). HC healthy controls, BD bipolar disorder. Black lines represent mean and standard error of the mean per group. Lines connecting values from the BD-Eu and BD-Ep group represent the euthymic patients who were measured again when they had a mood episode
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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