Abstract # 2072 P2X7R as biomarker of treatment response in Depressed Patients

An increasing body of evidence suggests alterations in immune and inflammatory signaling in depression, with higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in depressed patients as compared with controls. Importantly, we and other groups have also demonstrated an association between high inflammation and poor treatment response. Here we aimed to investigate a broader range of inflammatory genes in a group of depressed patients, who have been characterized for treatment response. Clinical data and blood samples from PaxGene tubes have been collected from 132 patients with depression (36 untreated, 60 treatment resistant and 36 treatment responsive) and from 40 healthy controls, as part of BIODEP, a multicenter study investigating immune biomarkers in depression within the NIMA Consortium. Using qPCR, we have measured mRNA levels of P2X7R and those of other genes involved in inflammation (IL-1b, TNF-alpha, MIF) and stress response (NR3C1, SGK1 and FKBP5). We have found that, compared with controls, untreated and treatment resistant patients had higher levels of P2X7R (+23% and +17%, p