AUTHOR=Hasselmann Helge , Gamradt Stefanie , Taenzer Aline , Nowacki Jan , Zain Rami , Patas Kostas , Ramien Caren , Paul Friedemann , Wingenfeld Katja , Piber Dominique , Gold Stefan M. , Otte Christian TITLE=Pro-inflammatory Monocyte Phenotype and Cell-Specific Steroid Signaling Alterations in Unmedicated Patients With Major Depressive Disorder JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=9 YEAR=2018 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.02693 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2018.02693 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=
Several lines of evidence have strongly implicated inflammatory processes in the pathobiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the cellular origin of inflammatory signals and their specificity remain unclear. We examined the phenotype and glucocorticoid signaling in key cell populations of the innate immune system (monocytes) vs. adaptive immunity (T cells) in a sample of 35 well-characterized, antidepressant-free patients with MDD and 35 healthy controls individually matched for age, sex, smoking status and body mass index. Monocyte and T cell phenotype was assessed by flow cytometry. Cell-specific steroid signaling was determined by mRNA expression of pre-receptor regulation (11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1;