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Density of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes is decreased in left hippocampi in major depressive disorder
Cobb JA, O'Neill K, Milner J, Mahajan GJ, Lawrence TJ, May WL, Miguel-Hidalgo J, Rajkowska G et al.. Neuroscience, 2015-12-30
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Neuroimaging and postmortem studies of subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) reveal smaller hippocampal volume with lengthening duration of illness. Pathology in astrocytes may contribute significantly to this reduced volume and to the involvement of the hippocampus in MDD. Postmortem hippocampal tissues were collected from 17 subjects with MDD and 17 psychiatrically-normal control subjects. Sections from the body of the hippocampus were immunostained for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a marker of intermediate filament protein expressed in astrocytes. The density of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes was measured in the hippocampus using 3-dimensional cell counting. Hippocampal subfields were also assessed for GFAP-immunoreactive area fraction. In CA1, there was a significant positive correlation between age and either density or area fraction in MDD. The density of astrocytes in the hilus, but not CA1 or CA2/3, was significantly decreased only in depressed subjects not taking an antidepressant drug, but not for depressed subjects taking an antidepressant drug. The area fraction of GFAP-immunoreactivity was significantly decreased in the dentate gyrus in women but not men with depression. In CA2/3, the area fraction of GFAP-immunoreactivity was inversely correlated with the duration of depression in suicide victims. Astrocyte contributions to neuronal function in the hilus may be compromised in depressed subjects not taking antidepressant medication. Due to the cross-sectional nature of the present study of postmortem brain tissue, it remains to be determined whether antidepressant drug treatment prevented a decrease in GFAP-immunoreactive astrocyte density or restored cell density to normal levels.
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APA 7th
Cobb, J. A., O'Neill, K., Milner, J., Mahajan, G. J., Lawrence, T. J., May, W. L., et al. (2016). Density of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes is decreased in left hippocampi in major depressive disorder. Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.12.044
Vancouver
Cobb JA, O'Neill K, Milner J, Mahajan GJ, Lawrence TJ, May WL, et al. Density of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes is decreased in left hippocampi in major depressive disorder. Neuroscience. 2016. doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.12.044. PMID: 26742791.
BibTeX
@article{cobb2016-26742791,
author = {Cobb, J. A. and O'Neill, K. and Milner, J. and Mahajan, G. J. and Lawrence, T. J. and May, W. L. and Miguel-Hidalgo, J. and Rajkowska, G. and others},
title = {{Density of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes is decreased in left hippocampi in major depressive disorder}},
journal = {Neuroscience},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.12.044},
pmid = {26742791},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.12.044}
}
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Key findings
- Pathology in astrocytes may contribute significantly to this reduced volume and to the involvement of the hippocampus in MDD.
- In CA1, there was a significant positive correlation between age and either density or area fraction in MDD.
- The density of astrocytes in the hilus, but not CA1 or CA2/3, was significantly decreased only in depressed subjects not taking an antidepressant drug, but not for depressed subjects taking an antidepressant drug.
- The area fraction of GFAP-immunoreactivity was significantly decreased in the dentate gyrus in women but not men with depression.
Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Participants17
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 50/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multicenter collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 29 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 50 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neuroscience) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2016 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 17 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multicenter collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26742791) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 29 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 29 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 50 out of 100. |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
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