Untargeted plasma proteomics and clinical phenotypes in adolescent depression

Adolescent depression is linked to 308 plasma proteins involved in immune, metabolic, and extracellular matrix pathways, revealing shared biological signatures across clinical phenotypes.

• Why it matters: Understanding biological underpinnings of adolescent depression can improve diagnosis and personalize treatments, addressing the current gap in early psychopathology research.
• What they did: The study analyzed plasma samples from 47 adolescents with depression and 53 healthy controls using untargeted mass spectrometry, combined with clinical data and advanced statistical methods.
• The result: Findings show systemic immune dysfunction and extracellular matrix alterations are associated with depression and mood improvement, highlighting potential targets for biologically informed interventions.