Journal of Inflammation Research (Oct 2023)

Identification of Plasma Inflammatory Markers of Adolescent Depression Using the Olink Proteomics Platform

  • Yang L,
  • Cao M,
  • Tian J,
  • Cui P,
  • Ai L,
  • Li X,
  • Li H,
  • Gao M,
  • Fang L,
  • Zhao L,
  • Gong F,
  • Zhou C

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 16
pp. 4489 – 4501

Abstract

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Ling Yang,1,2 Maolin Cao,3 Jing Tian,1 Peijin Cui,1 Ling Ai,3 Xue Li,4 Hua Li,5 Menghan Gao,1 Liang Fang,1,2,6 Libo Zhao,1,2 Fang Gong,2,6 Chanjuan Zhou1,3,4,6 1Department of Neurology, Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 2Chongqing Key Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Disease Research, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of General Practice, Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 4Central Laboratory, Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Ophthalmology, Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 6Chongqing Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disease, Chongqing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Fang Gong; Chanjuan Zhou, Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 439 Xuanhua Road, Yongchuan, Chongqing, 402160, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: The quality of life of worldwide adolescents has been seriously affected by depression. Notably, the inflammatory response is closely associated with the pathophysiology of depression. The present study applied a novel targeted proteomics technology, Olink proximity extension assay (PEA), to profile circulating immune-related proteins in adolescents with depression.Methods: In the present study, the expression levels of 92 inflammation-related proteins were compared between adolescents with depression (ADs) (n=15) and healthy controls (HCs) (n=15), using the OLINK PEA inflammation panel. We further validated 5 top proteins that were identified through KEGG and GO analyses between 40 HCs and 50 ADs, including CCL4, CXCL5, CXCL6, CXCL11, and IL-18 using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results: We identified 13 differentially expressed proteins between the two cohorts, including 5 up-regulated and 8 down-regulated proteins. Among them, the TRAIL protein levels were significantly negatively correlated with the HAMA-14 score (r=− 0.538, p= 0.038), and the levels of transforming growth factor α (TGF-α) were significantly associated with a change in appetite (r = -0.658, p = 0.008). After validation by ELISA, CCL4, CXCL5, CXCL11, and IL-18 showed significant changes between ADs and HCs (p < 0.05), while CXCL6 showed an up-regulated tendency in ADs (p=0.0673). The pooled diagnostic efficacy (area under the curve [AUC]) of these five inflammation markers in clinical diagnosis for adolescent depression was 0.819 (95% CI: 0.735– 0.904).Conclusion: We report a number of inflammation-related plasma biomarkers, which uncover a potential involvement of chemokines, cytokines, and cytokine receptors in adolescent depression. Their roles in the pathophysiology of depression need to be further elucidated.Keywords: olink proximity extension assay, biomarkers, adolescent depression, inflammation

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