relationship between depressive symptoms and mirna expression level in monocytes of patients with depression before and after antidepressant treatment

Objective　To explore the correlation of depressive symptoms to the microRNA (miRNA) expression level in monocytes of patients with depression before and after antidepressant treatment. Methods　Eighty-one patients with depression, admitted to the 102 Hospital of PLA from Aug. 2012 to Oct. 2013, having not received antidepressants treatment and meeting the criteria as listed in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 4th edition (DSM-IV), were selected as case group. Eighty-one normal individuals served as control group. With Affymetrix Expression Array, 26 miRNAs were identified from 3 individuals from each group as candidate miRNA, and among them 9 miRNAs (miR-146b, miR-1972, miR-26b, miR-29b, miR-338, miR-4485, miR-4498, miR-4743 and miR-874) in monocytes were selected for quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) assessment. Twenty patients from the case group were selected for the assessment of miRNA expression levels, and the clinical symptoms and treatment effect were evaluated using Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Clinical Global Impression (CGI), before and 6 weeks after antidepressant (venlafaxine, sertraline, mirtazapine, etc.) treatment. Results　Compared with the control group, the expression levels of miRNA-26b, miRNA-4743, miRNA-4498, miRNA-4485 and miRNA-1972 of the case group were significantly up-regulated (P<0.05). The variance of expression level of miRNA-4743, miRNA-4498, miRNA-4485 and miRNA-1972 was respectively positively correlated with improvement in retardation factors (P<0.05), meanwhile the variance of expression level of miRNA-26b was negatively correlated with the improvement of day and night change factors (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the alteration of miRNA-4485 expression may account 28.8% of retardation variance (P<0.05). Conclusion　 The miRNA-4743, miRNA-4498, miRNA-4485, miRNA-1972 and miRNA-26b in monocytes may serve as the biomarkers for the prognosis of depressive disorder. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2015.02.08