Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jan 15;19(1):34.
doi: 10.1186/s12967-021-02702-y.

Alteration of transthyretin and thyroxine-binding globulin in major depressive disorder: multiple reaction monitoring-based proteomic analysis

Hye In Woo #  1 , Jisook Park #  2 , Shinn-Won Lim  3 , Doh Kwan Kim  4 , Soo-Youn Lee  5   6
Affiliations

Alteration of transthyretin and thyroxine-binding globulin in major depressive disorder: multiple reaction monitoring-based proteomic analysis

Hye In Woo et al. J Transl Med. .

Abstract

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD), common mental disorder, lacks objective diagnostic and prognosis biomarkers. The objective of this study was to perform proteomic analysis to identify proteins with changed expression levels after antidepressant treatment and investigate differences in protein expression between MDD patients and healthy individuals.

Methods: A total of 111 proteins obtained from literature review were subjected to multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-based protein quantitation. Finally, seven proteins were quantified for plasma specimens of 10 healthy controls and 78 MDD patients (those at baseline and at 6 weeks after antidepressant treatment of either selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or mirtazapine).

Results: Among 78 MDD patients, 35 patients were treated with SSRIs and 43 patients were treated with mirtazapine. Nineteen (54.3%) and 16 (37.2%) patients responded to SSRIs and mirtazapine, respectively. Comparing MDD patients with healthy individuals, alteration of transthyretin was observed in MDD (P = 0.026). A few differences were observed in protein levels related to SSRIs treatment, although they were not statistically significant. Plasma thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) was different between before and after mirtazapine treatment only in responders (P = 0.007).

Conclusions: In proteomic analysis of plasma specimens from MDD patients, transthyretin and TBG levels were altered in MDD and changed after antidepressant treatment.

Keywords: MDD; Mirtazapine; Proteomics; SSRI; Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; Thyroid.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Overall scheme of proteomic analysis. Plasma specimens were collected before and at 6 weeks after antidepressant treatment in each patient group and healthy individuals. MRM multiple reaction monitoring, MS mass spectrometry, N number of patients, RT retention time, S/N signal-to-noise ratio, TBG thyroxine-binding globulin
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Plasma levels of thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) and transthyretin in healthy controls and major depressive disorder (MDD) patients treated with either selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or mirtazapine. a Comparison between healthy individuals and patients with MDD. Transthyretin was higher in controls than that in MDD patients. b Plasma protein levels in MDD patients treated with SSRIs. TBG levels were increased in responders after SSRIs treatment. However, the difference did not reach statistical significances. c Plasma protein levels in MDD patients treated with mirtazapine. TBG level was increased after mirtazapine treatment. Transthyretin levels tended to be lower in responders. However, this difference did not reach the statistical significance. NR, nonresponder; R, responder
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Belmaker RH, Agam G. Major depressive disorder. N Engl J Med. 2008;358:55–68. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra073096. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ferrari AJ, Somerville AJ, Baxter AJ, Norman R, Patten SB, Vos T, Whiteford HA. Global variation in the prevalence and incidence of major depressive disorder: a systematic review of the epidemiological literature. Psychol Med. 2013;43:471–481. doi: 10.1017/S0033291712001511. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demler O, Jin R, Merikangas KR, Walters EE. Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005;62:593–602. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.62.6.593. - DOI - PubMed
    1. aan het Rot M, Mathew SJ, Charney DS. Neurobiological mechanisms in major depressive disorder. CMAJ. 2009;180:305–313. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.080697. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Howren MB, Lamkin DM, Suls J. Associations of depression with C-reactive protein, IL-1, and IL-6: a meta-analysis. Psychosom Med. 2009;71:171–186. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181907c1b. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types