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Serum indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase and tryptophan-2, 3-dioxygenase: potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of major depressive disorder

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Abstract

Objective

The objective of this study was to observe the changes in the levels of indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase (IDO) and tryptophan-2, 3-dioxygenase (TDO) in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and investigate their potential role as novel biomarkers for diagnosing MDD.

Methods

A total of 55 MDD patients and 55 healthy controls (HC) were enrolled in the study. The severity of MDD was assessed using the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-24) before and after treatment. The serum concentrations of IDO and TDO were measured at baseline and after treatment. The correlations between the serum levels of IDO and TDO and HAMD-24 scores were evaluated using Pearson’s correlation test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the area under the curve (AUC) of serum levels of IDO and TDO for discriminating MDD patients from HC.

Results

The serum IDO and TDO concentrations were significantly higher in patients with MDD at baseline than in healthy controls, and decreased significantly after 2 weeks or 1 month of treatment. The levels of IDO and TDO were significantly positively correlated with HAMD-24 scores. Furthermore, the AUC values for IDO and TDO were 0.999 and 0.966, respectively.

Conclusion

The study suggests that serum IDO and TDO may serve as novel biomarkers for diagnosing MDD. These findings may lead to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of MDD and the development of new therapeutic targets.

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Funding

This project was supported by the Anhui Medical University (Grant No. 2020xkj064), the Hefei Health Applied Medicine (Grant No. hwk2020yb0015), the Hefei Seventh Cycle Key Medical Specialty, and Anhui Province Medical and Health Key Specialty Construction Project.

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Author notes

  1. Jun Liang and Zhuo-Yu Cheng contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China

    Jun Liang, Zhuo-Yu Cheng, Feng Shan, Yin Cao & Qing-Rong Xia

  2. Department of Pharmacy, Hefei Fourth People’s Hospital, Hefei, China

    Jun Liang, Zhuo-Yu Cheng, Feng Shan, Yin Cao & Qing-Rong Xia

  3. Psychopharmacology Research Laboratory, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, China

    Jun Liang, Zhuo-Yu Cheng, Feng Shan, Yin Cao & Qing-Rong Xia

  4. Anhui Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Hefei, China

    Jun Liang, Zhuo-Yu Cheng, Feng Shan, Yin Cao & Qing-Rong Xia

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  1. Jun Liang
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Liang, J., Cheng, ZY., Shan, F. et al. Serum indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase and tryptophan-2, 3-dioxygenase: potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of major depressive disorder. Psychopharmacology 241, 1093–1099 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-024-06542-8

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