The Association of Biochemical and Genetic Biomarkers in VEGF Pathway with Depression
Fernanda Daniela Dornelas Nunes,
Letícia Perticarrara Ferezin,
Sherliane Carla Pereira,
Fernanda Viana Figaro-Drumond,
Lucas Cézar Pinheiro,
Itiana Castro Menezes,
Cristiane von Werne Baes,
Fernanda Borchers Coeli-Lacchini,
José Eduardo Tanus-Santos,
Mário Francisco Juruena,
Riccardo Lacchini
Affiliations
Fernanda Daniela Dornelas Nunes
Department of Psychiatric Nursing and Human Sciences, Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, University of Sao Paolo, Sao Paulo 14040-902, Brazil
Letícia Perticarrara Ferezin
Department of Psychiatric Nursing and Human Sciences, Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, University of Sao Paolo, Sao Paulo 14040-902, Brazil
Sherliane Carla Pereira
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paolo 14049-900, Brazil
Fernanda Viana Figaro-Drumond
Department of Psychiatric Nursing and Human Sciences, Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, University of Sao Paolo, Sao Paulo 14040-902, Brazil
Lucas Cézar Pinheiro
Department of Psychiatric Nursing and Human Sciences, Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, University of Sao Paolo, Sao Paulo 14040-902, Brazil
Itiana Castro Menezes
Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, Ribeirao Preto Medical School, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 14049-900, Brazil
Cristiane von Werne Baes
Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, Ribeirao Preto Medical School, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 14049-900, Brazil
Fernanda Borchers Coeli-Lacchini
Blood Center Foundation, Clinics Hospital of the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paolo 14051-060, Brazil
José Eduardo Tanus-Santos
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paolo 14049-900, Brazil
Mário Francisco Juruena
Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham BR3 3BX, UK
Riccardo Lacchini
Department of Psychiatric Nursing and Human Sciences, Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, University of Sao Paolo, Sao Paulo 14040-902, Brazil
VEGF is an important neurotrophic and vascular factor involved in mental disorders. The objective of this study was to verify the effect of genetic polymorphisms in the VEGF pathway on the risk for depression, symptom intensity, and suicide attempts. To examine the association between the VEGF pathway and depression, we genotyped polymorphisms and measured the plasma concentrations of VEGF, KDR, and FLT1 proteins. The participants were 160 patients with depression and 114 healthy controls. The questionnaires that assessed the clinical profile of the patients were the MINI-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, GRID-HAMD21, CTQ, BSI, and the number of suicide attempts. Genotyping of participants was performed using the real-time PCR and protein measurements were performed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). VEGF and its inhibitors were reduced in depression. Individuals with depression and displaying the homozygous AA of the rs699947 polymorphism had higher plasma concentrations of VEGF (p-value = 0.006) and were associated with a greater number of suicide attempts (p-value = 0.041). Individuals with depression that were homozygous for the G allele of the FLT1 polymorphism rs7993418 were associated with lower symptom severity (p-value = 0.040). Our results suggest that VEGF pathway polymorphisms are associated with the number of suicide attempts and the severity of depressive symptoms.
