Increased brain vitamin D receptor expression and decreased expression of cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide in individuals who died by suicide

Abstract Vitamin D deficiency is associated with immune dysregulation, increased vulnerability to infections, depression, and suicidal behavior. One mediator of vitamin D-dependent immune regulation and antimicrobial defense is the cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (LL37), encoded by the cathelicidin-related antimicrobial peptide (CRAMP) gene. We compared the mRNA expression of the CRAMP gene, the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene, as well as the CYP27B1 and CYP24A1 genes (involved in vitamin D metabolism) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) between depressed individuals who died by suicide (n = 15) and matched (age, gender, and post-mortem interval) non-psychiatric controls (n = 15). Gene expression was measured through qRT-PCR with TaqMan® primers and probes, with GAPDH and β-actin genes as endogenous controls. Statistical analyses included t-tests and Pearson correlations. CRAMP mRNA expression was downregulated and VDR mRNA expression was upregulated in both dlPFC and ACC in suicides relative to controls, with no significant differences in expression of CYP24A1 and CYP27B1. To our knowledge, this is the first study on brain cathelicidin expression in the human brain in relationship to suicide. Increased VDR and decreased CRAMP expression are consistent with previously reported associations between vitamin D deficiency, immune dysregulation, and suicidal behavior, and should lead to future studies uncovering novel interactive targets for suicide prevention.