A Longitudinal Study of Inflammatory Pathways in Depression

March 29, 2021 updated by: Lena Brundin, Van Andel Research Institute

Suicide accounts for at least 1 million deaths globally each year. This is likely a significant underestimate, because suicide is under-reported in many countries. In the US, over 42,000 people die from suicide annually. Despite increased focus on identification and treatment, the rate of suicide has increased steadily over the past 15 years.

Our project aims both to improve our understanding of factors that increase the risk for suicide by comparing blood biomarkers associated with inflammation in patients with depression without suicidal behavior and patients with depression and suicidal behavior. The 160 individuals in this study will be followed with psychiatric assessments and blood samples at repeated time points over one year.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the US, and its rate continues to increase. Most individuals who die by suicide are in contact with health care, but clinical risk assessment is challenging. Inflammatory biomarkers have tentatively been linked to suicide. However, longitudinal studies establishing their accuracy in tracking suicidal behavior and critical symptoms are lacking. This study is a longitudinal study, with 1,280 total assessments planned, measuring suicidal ideation and behavior, associated clinical symptoms and blood biomarkers of inflammation.

Our overriding aim is to identify a set of biomarkers that distinguish patients with suicidal behavior from depressive patients without suicidal behavior. Further, the investigators intend to define biomarkers that are elevated during active suicidal behavior (at- risk periods) within the same patients (longitudinally).

Our working model is that inflammation (via pro-inflammatory cytokines) induces the kynurenine pathway, leading to an increased production of neurotoxic kynurenine metabolites (i.e., the NMDA-receptor agonist quinolinic acid, or others), which trigger suicidal behavior. The Investigators predict that immunomodulatory cells and molecules, including cytokines and kynurenine metabolites in plasma, may constitute biomarkers of suicidal behavior. The Investigators also predict that elevated inflammatory markers in suicidal individuals will be associated with epigenetic changes, regulating the expression of kynurenine enzymes in blood cells.

Aims:

  1. Establish biomarkers that indicate risk for active suicidal behavior;
  2. Determine epigenetic markers in the blood of patients with suicidal behavior.

In Aim 1, the investigators will enroll patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and active suicidal behavior (planning or attempts), and MDD patients without current or past suicidal behavior. Each subject will be assessed at eight time-points over one year. The Investigators will measure interleukins and acute phase reactants as well as tryptophan, serotonin and metabolites of the kynurenine pathway in peripheral blood.

For aim 2, the investigators will perform whole-genome methylation analysis using Illumina EPIC arrays, followed by gene pathway analyses, in blood of the enrolled patients.

Our project will aid the implementation of biomarkers in clinical care for patients with suicide risk, in order to enable intensified intervention during critical time-points. The biological insight obtained here can guide therapeutic development specifically targeting suicidality, with the ultimate goal of reducing suicide numbers.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Anticipated)

160

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Michigan
      • Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, 49501
        • Recruiting
        • Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services
        • Contact:
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

People who are above age of 18, have a Major Depressive Disorder diagnosis and no ongoing immune disorders.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Men and women ages 18 years and older will be included in the study.
  • 80 who are diagnosed with MDD by SCID but do not endorse current or past suicidal behaviors.
  • 80 who are diagnosed with MDD by SCID and endorse current suicidal behavior as defined by C-SSRS (preparatory acts, aborted or interrupted attempts, as well as completed attempts).
  • English speaking.
  • Willing and able to take part of the different steps in the study, including follow-up interviews and blood draws.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Vulnerable populations (e.g. incarcerated individuals).
  • Subjects with dementia or otherwise cognitively impaired subjects with difficulty understanding the study procedures.
  • Patients with a primary psychiatric diagnosis other than MDD.
  • Patients with an active somatic disorder primarily involving the immune system (autoimmune diseases such as Crohns disease, multiple sclerosis, or rheumatoid arthritis; or hematological diseases such as lymphoma or leukemia).
  • Patients on chronic and systemic immunomodulatory treatment. Examples are patients with a liver- or kidney transplant or medications used for disorders involving the immune system, as mentioned above. Examples of immunomodulatory treatments are cyclosporin, azathioprine, infliximab, corticosteroid treatment.
  • Patients undergoing active treatment for any form of cancer (chemotherapy or immunomodulatory treatments).

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
A Longitudinal Study of Inflammatory Pathways in Depression
We target to recruit 80 patients with Major Depression Disorder diagnosis and 80 patients with Major Depression Disorder with suicidal behavior.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Suicidal behavior of participants
Time Frame: One year.
The presence of suicidal behavior over one year will be classified as yes/no as the primary outcome measure. The Identification of participants with suicidal behavior at each study time point will be achieved by assessment using the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) regarding attempt, interrupted or aborted attempt, or preparatory acts over the past 7 days.
One year.
Establish metabolic biomarkers that indicate risk for suicidal behavior
Time Frame: One year.
Evaluate if metabolic biomarkers are predictive of suicidal behavior (planning, attempting) among patients with depression. Metabolites will be measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography, ultra-high performace liquid-chromatography and gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry). The main metabolite biomarker outcomes are quinolinic, kynurenic and picolinic acids as well as 3-HK and kynurenine (nM).
One year.
Establish inflammatory biomarkers that indicate risk for suicidal behavior
Time Frame: One year.
Evaluate if inflammatory biomarkers are predictive of suicidal behavior (planning, attempting) among patients with depression. Inflammatory markers will be measured using high-sensitivity ELISAs, Mesoscale platform or Luminex platforms. The main cytokine outcomes are TNF-alpha and IL-6 (pg/ml).
One year.
Determine epigenetic marks in blood cells from patients with suicidal behavior
Time Frame: One year.
DNA methylation will be measured by Illumina Infinum methylationEPIC BeadChip microarrays, and compacted between patients with suicidal behavior and patients without suicidal behavior.
One year.
Functional validation of the significant methylation changes
Time Frame: One year.
mRNA will be quantified by qPCR in the same peripheral blood samples as used for the EPIC array for functional validation of the significant methylation changes.
One year.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Van Andel Research Institute

Collaborators

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Columbia University
Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Lena C Brundin, M.D.; Ph.D., Van Andel Research Institute
  • Principal Investigator: Eric Achtyes, M.D., Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services
  • Principal Investigator: Joseph Mann, M.D., Columbia University Health Sciences

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 1, 2019

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

June 30, 2024

Study Completion (Anticipated)

June 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 30, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 7, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

November 12, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 30, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 29, 2021

Last Verified

March 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 19010
  • 1R01MH118211-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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