Peripheral Upregulation of Parkinson’s Disease-Associated Genes Encoding α-Synuclein, β-Glucocerebrosidase, and Ceramide Glucosyltransferase in Major Depression

Brazdis RM, von Zimmermann C, Lenz B, Kornhuber J, Mühle C (2024)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2024

Journal

International Journal of Molecular Sciences MDPI

Book Volume: 25

Article Number: 3219

Journal Issue: 6

DOI: 10.3390/ijms25063219

Abstract

Due to the high comorbidity of Parkinson’s disease (PD) with major depressive disorder (MDD) and the involvement of sphingolipids in both conditions, we investigated the peripheral expression levels of three primarily PD-associated genes: α-synuclein (SNCA), lysosomal enzyme β-glucocerebrosidase (GBA1), and UDP-glucose ceramide glucosyltransferase (UGCG) in a sex-balanced MDD cohort. Normalized gene expression was determined by quantitative PCR in patients suffering from MDD (unmedicated n = 63, medicated n = 66) and controls (remitted MDD n = 39, healthy subjects n = 61). We observed that expression levels of SNCA (p = 0.036), GBA1 (p = 0.014), and UGCG (p = 0.0002) were higher in currently depressed patients compared to controls and remitted patients, and expression of GBA1 and UGCG decreased in medicated patients during three weeks of therapy. Additionally, in subgroups, expression was positively correlated with the severity of depression and anxiety. Furthermore, we identified correlations between the gene expression levels and PD-related laboratory parameters. Our findings suggest that SNCA, GBA1, and UGCG analysis could be instrumental in the search for biomarkers of MDD and in understanding the overlapping pathological mechanisms underlying neuro-psychiatric diseases.

Authors with CRIS profile

Razvan Marius Brazdis Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Claudia von Zimmermann Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Bernd Lenz Medizinische Fakultät Johannes Kornhuber Lehrstuhl für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie Christiane Mühle Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy

How to cite

APA:

Brazdis, R.M., von Zimmermann, C., Lenz, B., Kornhuber, J., & Mühle, C. (2024). Peripheral Upregulation of Parkinson’s Disease-Associated Genes Encoding α-Synuclein, β-Glucocerebrosidase, and Ceramide Glucosyltransferase in Major Depression. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25063219

MLA:

Brazdis, Razvan Marius, et al. "Peripheral Upregulation of Parkinson’s Disease-Associated Genes Encoding α-Synuclein, β-Glucocerebrosidase, and Ceramide Glucosyltransferase in Major Depression." International Journal of Molecular Sciences 25.6 (2024).

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