L-Carnitine and Acetyl-L-Carnitine: Potential Novel Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder

The lack of biomarkers greatly limits the diagnosis and treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Endogenous L-carnitine (LC) and its derivative acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) play antidepressant roles by improving brain energy metabolism, regulating neurotransmitters and neural plasticity. The levels...

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Main Authors: Li-Juan Nie, Jun Liang, Feng Shan, Bao-Shi Wang, Yuan-Yuan Mu, Xie-Hai Zhou, Qing-Rong Xia
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-09-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychiatry
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.671151/full
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author Li-Juan Nie
Li-Juan Nie
Li-Juan Nie
Li-Juan Nie
Jun Liang
Jun Liang
Jun Liang
Jun Liang
Feng Shan
Feng Shan
Feng Shan
Feng Shan
Bao-Shi Wang
Bao-Shi Wang
Bao-Shi Wang
Bao-Shi Wang
Yuan-Yuan Mu
Yuan-Yuan Mu
Yuan-Yuan Mu
Yuan-Yuan Mu
Xie-Hai Zhou
Xie-Hai Zhou
Xie-Hai Zhou
Xie-Hai Zhou
Qing-Rong Xia
Qing-Rong Xia
Qing-Rong Xia
Qing-Rong Xia
spellingShingle Li-Juan Nie
Li-Juan Nie
Li-Juan Nie
Li-Juan Nie
Jun Liang
Jun Liang
Jun Liang
Jun Liang
Feng Shan
Feng Shan
Feng Shan
Feng Shan
Bao-Shi Wang
Bao-Shi Wang
Bao-Shi Wang
Bao-Shi Wang
Yuan-Yuan Mu
Yuan-Yuan Mu
Yuan-Yuan Mu
Yuan-Yuan Mu
Xie-Hai Zhou
Xie-Hai Zhou
Xie-Hai Zhou
Xie-Hai Zhou
Qing-Rong Xia
Qing-Rong Xia
Qing-Rong Xia
Qing-Rong Xia
L-Carnitine and Acetyl-L-Carnitine: Potential Novel Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder
Frontiers in Psychiatry
biomarker
acetyl-l-carnitine
diagnosis
depression
L-Carnitine
author_facet Li-Juan Nie
Li-Juan Nie
Li-Juan Nie
Li-Juan Nie
Jun Liang
Jun Liang
Jun Liang
Jun Liang
Feng Shan
Feng Shan
Feng Shan
Feng Shan
Bao-Shi Wang
Bao-Shi Wang
Bao-Shi Wang
Bao-Shi Wang
Yuan-Yuan Mu
Yuan-Yuan Mu
Yuan-Yuan Mu
Yuan-Yuan Mu
Xie-Hai Zhou
Xie-Hai Zhou
Xie-Hai Zhou
Xie-Hai Zhou
Qing-Rong Xia
Qing-Rong Xia
Qing-Rong Xia
Qing-Rong Xia
author_sort Li-Juan Nie
title L-Carnitine and Acetyl-L-Carnitine: Potential Novel Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder
title_short L-Carnitine and Acetyl-L-Carnitine: Potential Novel Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder
title_full L-Carnitine and Acetyl-L-Carnitine: Potential Novel Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder
title_fullStr L-Carnitine and Acetyl-L-Carnitine: Potential Novel Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder
title_full_unstemmed L-Carnitine and Acetyl-L-Carnitine: Potential Novel Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder
title_sort l-carnitine and acetyl-l-carnitine: potential novel biomarkers for major depressive disorder
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Psychiatry
issn 1664-0640
publishDate 2021-09-01
description The lack of biomarkers greatly limits the diagnosis and treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Endogenous L-carnitine (LC) and its derivative acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) play antidepressant roles by improving brain energy metabolism, regulating neurotransmitters and neural plasticity. The levels of ALC in people and rodents with depression are significantly reduced. It is necessary to determine whether serum LC and ALC might be used as novel biomarkers for the diagnosis of MDD. Here, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was used to determine the concentration of LC and ALC in the serum of healthy controls and patients with MDD; among the latter, in patients who were responsive (effective group) and non-responsive (ineffective group) after 2 weeks of treatment. The diagnostic value of serum LC and ALC for MDD was assessed. Compared with healthy controls, the serum LC and ALC concentrations in patients with MDD were significantly decreased (P < 0.001). Pearson correlation analysis shows that the HDRS-24 score was negatively associated with serum ALC (r = −0.325, P = 0.007). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.801 with 83.1% sensitivity and 66.3% specificity for LC, and an AUC of 0.898 with 88.8% sensitivity and 76.4% specificity for ALC, differentiating patients with MDD from healthy controls. Furthermore, the concentration of LC and ALC in patients with depression was significantly increased in the effective treatment group, and no significant change was observed in the ineffective treatment group. These results suggest that serum LC and ALC may be novel biomarkers for the diagnosis of MDD.
topic biomarker
acetyl-l-carnitine
diagnosis
depression
L-Carnitine
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.671151/full
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spelling doaj-c3f7e4379c84474691504281b8b1fc912021-09-30T05:27:04ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402021-09-011210.3389/fpsyt.2021.671151671151L-Carnitine and Acetyl-L-Carnitine: Potential Novel Biomarkers for Major Depressive DisorderLi-Juan Nie0Li-Juan Nie1Li-Juan Nie2Li-Juan Nie3Jun Liang4Jun Liang5Jun Liang6Jun Liang7Feng Shan8Feng Shan9Feng Shan10Feng Shan11Bao-Shi Wang12Bao-Shi Wang13Bao-Shi Wang14Bao-Shi Wang15Yuan-Yuan Mu16Yuan-Yuan Mu17Yuan-Yuan Mu18Yuan-Yuan Mu19Xie-Hai Zhou20Xie-Hai Zhou21Xie-Hai Zhou22Xie-Hai Zhou23Qing-Rong Xia24Qing-Rong Xia25Qing-Rong Xia26Qing-Rong Xia27Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Hefei Fourth People's Hospital, Hefei, ChinaPsychopharmacology Research Laboratory, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, ChinaAnhui Clinical Research Center for Mental Diseases, Hefei, ChinaAffiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Hefei Fourth People's Hospital, Hefei, ChinaPsychopharmacology Research Laboratory, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, ChinaAnhui Clinical Research Center for Mental Diseases, Hefei, ChinaAffiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Hefei Fourth People's Hospital, Hefei, ChinaPsychopharmacology Research Laboratory, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, ChinaAnhui Clinical Research Center for Mental Diseases, Hefei, ChinaAffiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Hefei Fourth People's Hospital, Hefei, ChinaPsychopharmacology Research Laboratory, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, ChinaAnhui Clinical Research Center for Mental Diseases, Hefei, ChinaAffiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Hefei Fourth People's Hospital, Hefei, ChinaPsychopharmacology Research Laboratory, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, ChinaAnhui Clinical Research Center for Mental Diseases, Hefei, ChinaAffiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Hefei Fourth People's Hospital, Hefei, ChinaPsychopharmacology Research Laboratory, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, ChinaAnhui Clinical Research Center for Mental Diseases, Hefei, ChinaAffiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, Hefei Fourth People's Hospital, Hefei, ChinaPsychopharmacology Research Laboratory, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, ChinaAnhui Clinical Research Center for Mental Diseases, Hefei, ChinaThe lack of biomarkers greatly limits the diagnosis and treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Endogenous L-carnitine (LC) and its derivative acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) play antidepressant roles by improving brain energy metabolism, regulating neurotransmitters and neural plasticity. The levels of ALC in people and rodents with depression are significantly reduced. It is necessary to determine whether serum LC and ALC might be used as novel biomarkers for the diagnosis of MDD. Here, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was used to determine the concentration of LC and ALC in the serum of healthy controls and patients with MDD; among the latter, in patients who were responsive (effective group) and non-responsive (ineffective group) after 2 weeks of treatment. The diagnostic value of serum LC and ALC for MDD was assessed. Compared with healthy controls, the serum LC and ALC concentrations in patients with MDD were significantly decreased (P < 0.001). Pearson correlation analysis shows that the HDRS-24 score was negatively associated with serum ALC (r = −0.325, P = 0.007). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.801 with 83.1% sensitivity and 66.3% specificity for LC, and an AUC of 0.898 with 88.8% sensitivity and 76.4% specificity for ALC, differentiating patients with MDD from healthy controls. Furthermore, the concentration of LC and ALC in patients with depression was significantly increased in the effective treatment group, and no significant change was observed in the ineffective treatment group. These results suggest that serum LC and ALC may be novel biomarkers for the diagnosis of MDD.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.671151/fullbiomarkeracetyl-l-carnitinediagnosisdepressionL-Carnitine