Abstract
BackgroundBrain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of major depression. Individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) have a high prevalence of major depression and low levels of BDNF. We therefore explored whether the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism is associated with co-morbid depression and whether depression affects the serum levels of BDNF in a Han Chinese subjects with T2DM.MethodsA Total of 296 T2DM patients and 70 healthy volunteers (Health control, HC group) were recruited in this study. T2DM patients were divided into two subgroups: depressive diabetes group (DDM group, n = 64) and non-depressive diabetes group (NDDM group, n = 232), according to the presence or the absence of depression assessed by Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Val66Met polymorphism was detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (PCR-RFLP). Serum BDNF levels were measured by ELISA kit.ResultsIn this study, 21.6% (64/296) patients with T2DM had depression. The BDNF Val66Met genotype distributions were statistically different among the three groups (χ2 = 7.39, p < 0.05). DDM group carried the highest frequencies of Met allele (53.9%) compared to HC group (39.3%) and NDDM group (38.8%). Subjects with Met/Met had lowest serum BDNF levels (76.59 ± 5.12 pg/ml, F = 7.39, p < 0.05) compared to subjects with Val/Met (79.04 ± 5.19 pg/ml) and Val/Val (83.83 ± 3.97 pg/ml). Within T2DM group, it was also observed that the serum BDNF levels in DDM group were significantly lower than those in NDDM group (76.67 ± 5.35 vs. 79.84 ± 3.97 pg/ml, p < 0.05). In type 2 diabetes subjects, BDNF serum levels were significant correlations with genotypes (r = −0.346, p < 0.01), depression scores (r = −0.486, p < 0.01) and HbA1c (r = −0.168, p < 0.05). After adjustment for gender, HbA1c, BMI and numbers of complications, BDNF Val/Met genotype distributions (OR = 2.105, p < 0.05) and decreased serum BDNF levels (OR = 0.835, p < 0.01) were independently associated with depression in T2DM.ConclusionsThe BDNF Val66Met polymorphism might be implicated in the pathogenesis of depression in T2DM by decreasing serum BDNF levels in Han Chinese Subjects.
Highlights
Depression and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are two of the most prevalent and devastating diseases
We investigated whether the Val66Met polymorphism and serum Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels are different in Han Chinese subjects who suffered from T2DM with or without depression
In the present study, we investigated the association of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism with depression in T2DM of Chinese Han subjects
Summary
Depression and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are two of the most prevalent and devastating diseases. A study by Karege et al have reported that major depressive patients exhibited significantly lower levels of serum BDNF compared with normal controls [9,10], whereas the use of antidepressants led to an up regulation of BDNF in the hippocampus of subjects with major depression [8]. The association between BDNF and depression is supported by animal studies in which infusion of recombinant BDNF exerted antidepressant effect [11]. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of major depression. Individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) have a high prevalence of major depression and low levels of BDNF. We explored whether the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism is associated with co-morbid depression and whether depression affects the serum levels of BDNF in a Han Chinese subjects with T2DM
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