Interleukin-1 alpha (rs1800587) genetic polymorphism is associated with specific cognitive functions but not depression or loneliness in elderly males without dementia.
In this study, we tested the leukocyte mRNA expression levels of genes belonging to glucocorticoid receptor (GR) function (FKBP-4, FKBP-5, and GR), inflammation (interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-10, macrophage inhibiting factor (MIF), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α), and neuroplasticity (brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), p11 and VGF), in healthy controls (n=34) and depressed patients (n=74), before and after 8 weeks of treatment with escitalopram or nortriptyline, as part of the Genome-based Therapeutic Drugs for Depression study.
Previously, we reported that IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) knockout (KO) mice, which lacked IL-1Ra molecules that antagonize the IL-1 receptor, showed anti-depression-like behavior via adrenergic modulation at the age of 8 weeks.
These results suggest that sustained activation of IL-1 signaling induced by gene manipulation in mutant mice affects the expression of the ARα(1A) subtype and that modification of adrenergic signaling by the IL-1 system may ultimately cause significant psychiatric abnormalities such as depression, and this mutant mouse could be regarded as a model animal of depression that specifically appears in children and adolescents.
We examined whether an association between prevalence of anxiety and depression in Omani type-2 diabetic patients (n=30) and the levels of inflammatory markers such as IL-1ß, TNF-α, IFN-γ and C-reactive protein (CRP) exists.