Chemokine profile in women with moderate to severe anxiety and depression during pregnancy

Ignacio Camacho-Arroyo,María Del Pilar Meza-Rodríguez,Blanca Farfán Labonne,Mónica Flores-Ramos,Gabriela Pellón Diaz,Philippe Leff Gelman,Fausto Moisés Coronel Cruz,Ismael Mancilla-Herrera,Joselin Hernández-Ruiz

doi:10.1186/s12884-021-04225-2

Abstract

BackgroundCytokine levels have been extensively described in pregnant subjects under normal and pathological conditions, including mood-related disorders. Concerning chemokines, very few studies have reported their association with psychiatric disorders during pregnancy. Therefore, we explored the chemokine profile in women exhibiting anxiety and depression during late pregnancy in the present study.MethodsOne hundred twenty-six pregnant women in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy, displaying moderate to severe anxiety (ANX) alone and women exhibiting moderate to severe anxiety with comorbid depression (ANX + DEP), and 40 control pregnant women without affective disorders (CTRL) were evaluated through the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Serum chemokine levels of MCP-1 (CCL2), RANTES (CCL5), IP-10 (CXCL10), Eotaxin (CCL11), TARC (CCL17), MIP-1α (CCL3), MIP-1β (CCL4), MIG (CXCL9), MIP-3α (CCL20), ENA-78 (CXCL5), GROα (CXCL1), I-TAC (CXCL11) and IL-8 (CXCL8)] were measured by immunoassay. Clinical, biochemical, and sociodemographic parameters were correlated with HARS and HDRS score values.ResultsSerum levels of most chemokines were significantly higher in the ANX and in the ANX + DEP groups, when compared to the CTRL group. Positive correlations were observed between MIP-1α/CCL3, MIP-1β/CCL4, MCP-1/CCL2, MIP-3α/CCL20, RANTES/CCL5, Eotaxin/CCL11, and I-TAC/CXCL11 with high scores for anxiety (HARS) (p < 0.05) and for depression (HDRS) (p < 0.004). After controlling clinical measures for age + gwk + BMI, chemokines such as IL-8/CXCL8, MCP-1/CCL2 and MIP-1β/CCL4 were found associated with high scores for anxiety (p < 0.05) in the ANX group. TARC/CCL17 and Eotaxin/CCL11 showed significant associations with high scores for depression (p < 0.04) whereas, MCP-1/CCL2 and MIP-1α/CCL3 were significantly associated with high scores for anxiety (p < 0.05) in the ANX + DEP group. Using a multivariate linear model, high serum levels of MIP-1β/CCL4 and Eotaxin/CCL11 remained associated with depression (p < 0.01), while, IL-8/CXCL8, MIP-1β/CCL4, MCP-1/CCL2, and MIP-1α/CCL3 were associated with anxiety (p < 0.05) in the symptomatic groups.ConclusionsOur data show that serum levels of distinct chemokines are increased in women exhibiting high levels of affective symptoms during late pregnancy. Our results suggest that increased levels of anxiety, depressive symptoms, and mood-related disorders may promote changes in specific functional chemokines associated with a chronic inflammatory process. If not controlled, it may lead to adverse obstetric and negative neonate outcomes, child development and neuropsychiatric alterations in the postnatal life.HighlightsChemokine levels increase in affective disorders during pregnancy.

Highlights

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating condition with a high prevalence and multisymptomatic nature, representing the third cause of disability worldwide [1, 2]
Thereby, we described the association found between serum levels of functional chemokines in women exhibiting high levels of depression and anxiety symptoms during late pregnancy
The present study shows that pregnant subjects exhibiting either higher levels of anxiety symptoms and/or comorbid anxiety and depression symptoms, showed higher concentrations of distinct serum chemokines than healthy pregnant women

Summary

Introduction

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating condition with a high prevalence and multisymptomatic nature, representing the third cause of disability worldwide [1, 2]. MDD has a complex and multifactorial etiology that arises from complex interactions among genetic, developmental, and environmental factors, reflecting the heterogeneity of the disorder [3]. Such heterogeneity is reflected in the estimates of MDD individuals that receive antidepressant treatment, showing that only a third of patients receive adequate treatment, and up to half of them relapse despite the increasing number of antidepressant drugs currently available [2, 3]. Different studies reported that the prevalence of perinatal depression ranges between 2 and 21% [5, 6], increasing to 31% upon the self-report scales used to screen the healthy pregnant population [6]. We explored the chemokine profile in women exhibiting anxiety and depression during late pregnancy in the present study

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion