Journal
PROGRESS IN NEURO-PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY & BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
Volume 26, Issue 6, Pages 1155-1160Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/S0278-5846(02)00253-1
Keywords
D-4 dopamine receptor; dopaminergic system; major depression; messenger RNA; paroxetine; peripheral blood mononuclear cells; serotonergic system
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Objectives: The evaluation of the possible role of dopamine in psychiatric disorders has been limited by the relative inadequacy of tools. A tempting approach to examine alterations of dopaminergic system in major depression is to examine the expression of dopamine receptors in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Methods: D-4 dopamine receptor (D4DR) messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in PBMC from 12 patients with major depressive disorder was examined before and after an 8-week treatment with paroxetine at 20-50 mg/day. Ten healthy subjects were analyzed in parallel. The relative content of D4DR mRNA was determined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), using beta-actin as internal standard. Results: D4DR mRNA levels were significantly decreased in untreated depressed patients as compared to controls. D4DR mRNA expression returned to control levels after paroxetine treatment, when patients achieved a significant improvement of depressive symptoms, Conclusions: Results of our study suggest the role of PBMC D4DR mRNA expression as a peripheral marker of the central dopaminergic function in major depression, (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc, All rights reserved.
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