Increased IL-8 concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with unipolar depression

• Published in: Comprehensive psychiatry Vol. 102; p. 152196
• Main Authors: Kuzior, Hanna, Fiebich, Bernd L., Yousif, Nizar M., Saliba, Soraya W., Ziegler, Christiane, Nickel, Kathrin, Maier, Simon J., Süß, Patrick, Runge, Kimon, Matysik, Miriam, Dersch, Rick, Berger, Benjamin, Robinson, Tilman, Venhoff, Nils, Kessler, Franziska, Blank, Thomas, Domschke, Katharina, Tebartz van Elst, Ludger, Endres, Dominique
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.10.2020; Elsevier Limited; Elsevier
• Subjects: Age; Blood; Cerebrospinal fluid; Chemokines; Correlation analysis; Cytokines; Depression; Depressive Disorder - diagnosis; Gender; Humans; Hypertension; IL-8; Immunology; Independent sample; Interleukin 8; Laboratories; Mental depression; Neuroinflammation; Patients; Quantitative psychology; Retrospective Studies; Suicides & suicide attempts; Thyroid gland; Depression; Neuroinflammation; IL-8; Interleukin 8
• ISSN: 0010-440X; 1532-8384; 1532-8384
• DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2020.152196

Unipolar depression is a common and debilitating disorder. Immunological explanatory approaches have become increasingly important in recent years and can be studied particularly well in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Previous studies discerned alterations in interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 levels; however, findings regarding IL-8 were partly contradictory. The aim of the present study was to investigate the concentrations of different cytokines and chemokines, focusing on IL-8, in the CSF of patients with unipolar depression. Participants included 40 patients with unipolar depression and 39 mentally healthy controls with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. CSF cytokine levels were measured using a magnetic bead multiplexing immunoassay. IL-8 levels in the CSF of the patient group with depression were significantly higher than those in the control group (Mean ± SD: 38.44 ± 6.26 pg/ml versus 21.40 ± 7.96 pg/ml; p < .001). The significance of the results is limited by the retrospective design and methodological aspects. The main findings of this study were significantly higher concentrations of IL-8 in the CSF of patients with unipolar depression than in the control group. The detection of high CSF IL-8 levels in this study supports the idea that inflammatory processes might play a role in the pathophysiology of a subgroup of patients with depression. •Albumin quotients were significantly higher in patients with unipolar depression compared to controls.•Interleukin-8 levels in the CSFof the patients with unipolar depression were significantly higher than those in the controls.•Elevated interleukin-8 concentrations in CSF might be an additional marker for the detection of inflammatory subgroups of depressive patients.•Further multimodal research with larger patient groups and longitudinal observations is necessary in this field.