Comparison of choose immune system parameters in patients suffering from depression and healthy donors

Abstract

Background. Depressive disorders are a serious and frequent challenge for contemporary medicine. The understanding of basic pathophysiological and etiological principles of depression is still poor. According to the immunological hypothesis of depression, dysregulation of nervous system may induce dysregulation of the immune system or vice versa. The aim of current study was to assess the differences in the mitochondrial membrane potential and in the level of activation antigens CD25 and CD69 between peripheral blood T lymphocytes of healthy people and people who suffer from depression.
Materials and methods. JC-1 - a fluorescent mitochondrial membrane potential probe - and flow cytometry were used for comparison of the levels of mitochondrial potential in the T cells of patients with diagnosed depressive episode (ICD-10 diagnostic criteria) and from healthy people. Flow cytometry was also used for assessment of phenotype differences.
Results. Mitochondrial potential in the lymphocytes of people who suffer from depression was decreased in comparison with healthy control, pointing at the possibility of impaired energy production in these cells. At the same time we observed a significant increase of percentages of both CD4⁺CD25⁺ and CD8⁺CD25⁺ as well as CD8⁺CD69⁺ lymphocytes in depressive patients, suggesting increased levels of lymphocyte activation associated with the disease.
Conclusions. There is an association between depression and the immune system state.