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Abstract
Purpose
Sortilin-derived propeptide (PE) and its synthetic analog spadin show strong antidepressant activity in rodents and, therefore, could be used as a biomarker to evaluate the clinical efficacy of antidepressant treatments. The aim of this study was to determine whether electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) modulates serum PE concentration in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD).
Patients and methods
Forty-five patients with major depressive disorder, who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV criteria, were selected for this study.
Results
We did not observe any difference in the PE levels between TRD patients and controls (z=0.10, P=0.92), but we found a strong significant increase between the PE levels measured just before (T0) and about 1 month (T2) after ECT (z=−2.82, P=0.005). A significant difference between T0 and T2 was observed only in responders (z=−2.59, P=0.01), whereas no effect was found in nonresponders (z=−1.27, P=0.20). Interestingly, we found a significant correlation between the increase in PE levels and decrease in Montgomery -Åsberg Depression Rating Scale scores for the total patient sample (P=0.03).
Conclusion
This study indicates for the first time that ECT affects serum PE concentration in responders and, therefore, could contribute to the evaluation of the therapy success.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the French Government for the “Investments for the Future” LABEX ICST # ANR-11 LABX 0015. This work was supported by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-13-SAMA-0001 and −0002 and ANR-13-RPIB-0001 and −0002). We would like to dedicate this work to Morgane Roulot, our great friend and colleague. She is still greatly missed by all of us.
Author contributions
MR and JM performed the experiments. MB, CH, and JM conceived and designed the experiments and contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools. AM enrolled and screened controls and patients and performed statistical analyses for Italian cohort. MBort enrolled and screened patients. AM, EM, and MBort provided human blood serum of the cohort and contributed to the final manuscript. All authors contributed toward data analysis, drafting and critically revising the paper, gave final approval of the version to be published, and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.