Feeling down in the dumps?

It’s hard to pin down the cause of depression – different things cause people to start the downward spiral into utter despair, but scientists think they may have pinpointed a specific gene which contributes to the onset of the disease – MKP-1.

Scientists hope to develop new medication to treat depression

Scientists from Yale University performed whole genome scans on tissue samples from 21 deceased individuals who had been diagnosed with depression and compared gene expression levels to those of 18 individuals without depression. What they found was MKP-1 – a gene that was increased more than two-fold in the brain tissue of depressed individuals.

“This could be a primary cause, or at least a major contributing factor, to the signalling abnormalities that lead to depression,” said Ronald S Duman, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology, and lead author of the study.

MKP-1 inactivates a molecular pathway crucial to the survival and function of neurons and blocking its function has been implicated in depression, as well as other disorders. Duman’s team found that when MKP-1 is knocked out in mice, the mice become resilient to stress, but when the gene is activated, the mice exhibit symptoms that mimic depression.

The gene has been identified as a potential target for a novel class of therapeutic agents, particularly for treatment resistant depression. Many common medications manipulate the uptake of the neurotransmitter serotonin, but it’s estimated that 40% of patients do not respond to current medications, which can take weeks or months to produce a therapeutic effect.