Yonago Acta medica 2004;47:1–5
Increased Activity of 2',5'-Oligoadenylate Synthetase in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Patients with Major Depressive Disorder
Takeshi Yamada, Kazufumi Ikuta*, Ryuzo Kawahara and Takeshi Sairenji*
Division of Neoropsychiatry, Department of Multidisciplinary Internal Medicine, School of Medicine and *Division of Biosignaling, Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Yonago 683-8503 Japan
The aim of this study was to measure the activity of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (2',5'AS) which is mainly induced by interferon (IFN)-α and -β in patients with major depression and evaluate its relationship to the disease. 2',5'AS activity of 23 patients (male=11, female=12) with major depression and of 29 normal control subjects (male=15, female=14) was measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by radioassay. The mean 2',5'AS activity in the PBMCs of the patients and that of the control subjects were 1.10 ± 0.69% and 0.72 ± 0.51%, respectively. The activity in the patients was statistically higher than that of the control subjects (P=0.03). These results imply some abnormality in the IFN-2',5'AS system of patients with major depression.
Key words: interferon; major depressive disorder; 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase
