Elevated cytokine expression in the orbitofrontal cortex of victims of suicide

• Published in: Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica Vol. 117; no. 3; pp. 198 - 206
• Main Authors: Tonelli, L. H., Stiller, J., Rujescu, D., Giegling, I., Schneider, B., Maurer, K., Schnabel, A., Möller, H.-J., Chen, H. H., Postolache, T. T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2008; Blackwell
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Brain; Cause of Death; Cytokines; Cytokines - genetics; Depressive Disorder - immunology; Depressive Disorder - mortality; Depressive Disorder - pathology; Female; Frontal Lobe - immunology; Frontal Lobe - pathology; gene expression; Germany; Humans; Interleukin-13 - genetics; Interleukin-1beta - genetics; Interleukin-4 - genetics; Interleukin-5 - genetics; Interleukin-6 - genetics; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; neuroimmune; Neurology; postmortem; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reference Values; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Sex Factors; Suicide; Suicide - psychology; Suicide - statistics & numerical data; Suicides & suicide attempts; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - genetics; Women; Europe; Germany; Social environment; Human; neuroimmune; Orbitofrontal cortex; Cytokine; Central nervous system; Postmortem; Mental health; Sex; Interleukin 13; Gene expression; Suicide; brain; Genetic determinism; Encephalon; Interleukin 4; Genetics; Tumor necrosis factor α; Public health; Victim
• ISSN: 0001-690X; 1600-0447; 1600-0447
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2007.01128.x

Objective:  Based on the reported association between cytokines with depression and suicide, and evidence of increased markers of inflammation in the brain of suicide victims, the present study examined the expression of cytokines in the orbitofrontal cortex of suicide victims. Method:  In a postmortem sample obtained from the Brodman area 11 of suicides (n = 34) and controls (n = 17), real‐time RT‐PCR was used to compare the expression of mRNA species for tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), interleukin (IL)‐1β, 4, 5, 6, and 13. Results:  Increased expression of IL‐4 was found in women suicide victims and IL‐13 in men suicide victims. Elevated but not significant cytokine expression was also observed for TNF‐α in women suicide victims. Conclusion:  To our knowledge, these results provide the first evidence of the presence of mRNA transcripts of type 2 T‐helper cytokines in the human orbitofrontal cortex and their increased expression in the brain of suicides.