Concentrations of proinflammatory TNFα and IFNγ were significantly lower in individuals in the chronic PTSD class compared with those in the recovery and resilient classes.
Immune data showed that PTSD subjects had higher levels of IL-1β and TNFα, as well as total pro-inflammatory cytokine scores compared to controls, suggesting an increase of inflammatory activity in PTSD.
The present study investigated whether angiotensin (Ang) II-elicited hypertensive response is sensitized in a model of PTSD and whether inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) or tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α prior to PTSD blocks this sensitization of Ang II hypertension.
<b>Methods:</b> We conducted a search for articles in PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Web of Science, using the key words: ("Child sexual abuse" OR "childhood maltreatment" OR "sexual violence" OR "posttraumatic stress disorder" OR "rape") AND ("cytokines" OR "inflammatory markers" OR "interleukin" OR "tumor necrosis factor" OR "C-reactive protein").
Twenty-seven articles were identified.Data from human cross-sectional studies suggests that plasma/serum levels of TNF-α are elevated in those with PTSD, as compared to healthy controls.
Depressive episodes with and without PTSD and PTSD alone became more severe as the levels of TNF-α, l-arginine increased and the levels of NT-4/5, GPX-1 decreased.
In a cohort of trauma-exposed Vietnam War veterans (n=299; 159 cases, 140 controls) TNF α serum levels and TNFα polymorphism rs1800629 were correlated with PTSD severity and resilience scores.
We then determined whether PTSD-associated increases in HOMA-IR were correlated with select biological variables from pathways previously hypothesized to link PTSD with cardiometabolic risk, including systemic inflammation (increased C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor α), sympathetic over-activity (increased resting heart rate), and neuroendocrine dysregulation (increased plasma cortisol or serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)).
Given these results and reports of immune dysregulation associated with trauma history, we compared plasma cytokine levels in these subjects and found IL4, IL2, and TNFα levels associated with PTSD, child abuse, and TLS.
Posttraumatic stress disorder was associated with low cortisol and higher levels of DHEA and greater production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) compared to traumatized and healthy controls.