%0 Journal Article
%T Protein Plasma Levels of the IGF Signalling System Are Altered in Major Depressive Disorder.
%A Fernández-Pereira C
%A Penedo MA
%A Rivera-Baltanás T
%A Pérez-Márquez T
%A Alves-Villar M
%A Fernández-Martínez R
%A Veiga C
%A Salgado-Barreira Á
%A Prieto-González JM
%A Ortolano S
%A Olivares JM
%A Agís-Balboa RC
%J Int J Mol Sci
%V 24
%N 20
%D 2023 Oct 17
%M 37894932
%F 6.208
%R 10.3390/ijms242015254
%X The Insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2) has been recently proven to alleviate depressive-like behaviors in both rats and mice models. However, its potential role as a peripheral biomarker has not been evaluated in depression. To do this, we measured plasma IGF-2 and other members of the IGF family such as Binding Proteins (IGFBP-1, IGFBP-3, IGFBP-5 and IGFBP-7) in a depressed group of patients (n = 51) and in a healthy control group (n = 48). In some of these patients (n = 15), we measured these proteins after a period (19 ± 6 days) of treatment with antidepressants. The Hamilton Depressive Rating Scale (HDRS) and the Self-Assessment Anhedonia Scale (SAAS) were used to measure depression severity and anhedonia, respectively. The general cognition state was assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) test and memory with the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT). The levels of both IGF-2 and IGFBP-7 were found to be significantly increased in the depressed group; however, only IGF-2 remained significantly elevated after correction by age and sex. On the other hand, the levels of IGF-2, IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-5 were significantly decreased after treatment, whereas only IGFBP-7 was significantly increased. Therefore, peripheral changes in the IGF family and their response to antidepressants might represent alterations at the brain level in depression.