Peripheral immune biomarkers, brain imaging phenotypes and treatment response in major depressive disorder

GFAP is higher in unmedicated major depressive disorder patients (β = 0.66, 95% CI 0.22–1.11), while no plasma immune marker links to PET/MR SERT binding or cortical thickness.

• Why it matters: Immune dysregulation is implicated in MDD, but its in vivo brain correlates and clinical relevance for treatment response are unclear.
• What they did: Ten plasma immune biomarkers were profiled at baseline in 36 unmedicated MDD patients and 48 controls, alongside PET/MR SERT binding and structural brain measures; patients then received three months of antidepressant treatment with follow-up imaging.
• The result: IL-13 is associated with greater escitalopram response (β = 1.09, 95% CI 0.56–1.61) and shows nominal links to hippocampal volume increase, supporting IL-13 as a candidate prognostic marker.

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