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Brain Sciences
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Neuroimmunology of Major Psychiatric Disorders
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Neuroimmunology of Major Psychiatric Disorders

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2020) | Viewed by 6792

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Manuel Morrens

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
(1) Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute(CAPRI), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp 2610, Belgium
(2) University Psychiatric Hospital Antwerp, Campus Duffel, 2570 Duffel, Belgium
Interests: Immune; kynurenine pathway; mood disorders; schizophrenia

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past two decades, evidence has accumulated pointing towards the involvement of the immune-inflammatory system in the pathophysiology of several major psychiatric disorders, including mood and psychotic disorders. Abnormalities in peripheral (cytokines, kynurenines) and central (microglial activation patterns) immune markers have been demonstrated, and were shown to be predictive of poor clinical outcome. Other diseases accompanied by proinflammatory cytokine production profiles (i.e., auto-immune disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease) have been demonstrated to increase the risk for these major psychiatric disorders. More recent insights have revealed the potential involvement of oxidative and nitrosative stress and other cytotoxic markers. These complex interactions may drive the neurodegeneration seen in the more severe psychiatric illnesses.

Yet, many important research questions remain open in this field, hampering our understanding of the role of the immune system in the onset and course of these psychiatric illnesses. For instance: How are immune deficiencies related to oxidative and nitrosative stress in major psychiatric illnesses? Are immune abnormalities a driving factor in the higher co-morbidities between psychiatric illnesses on one hand and metabolic or other somatic syndromes on the other? Is there ‘an immune subtype’ in depressive and psychotic disorders? What is the predictive value of immune markers towards treatment outcome and towards psychosocial functioning? Which new methodologies may further our insights in the field of immunopsychiatry? These are some of the important questions we would like to ask in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Manuel Morrens
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cytokines
  • immune
  • immunopsychiatry
  • kynurenines
  • major depressive disorder
  • microglia
  • oxidative stress
  • schizophrenia

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 941 KiB  
Article
Acute and Chronic Mental Stress both Influence Levels of Neurotransmitter Precursor Amino Acids and Derived Biogenic Amines
by Katharina Hüfner, Matyas Galffy, Jonas Egeter, Johannes M. Giesinger, Kathrin Arnhard, Herbert Oberacher, Johanna M. Gostner, Dietmar Fuchs and Barbara Sperner-Unterweger
Brain Sci. 2020, 10(6), 322; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10060322 - 26 May 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3050
Abstract
Acute and chronic mental stress are both linked to somatic and psychiatric morbidity, however, the neurobiological pathways of these associations are still not fully elucidated. Mental stress is known to be immunomodulatory, which is one of the basic concepts of psychoneuroimmunology. In the [...] Read more.
Acute and chronic mental stress are both linked to somatic and psychiatric morbidity, however, the neurobiological pathways of these associations are still not fully elucidated. Mental stress is known to be immunomodulatory, which is one of the basic concepts of psychoneuroimmunology. In the present study, neurotransmitter precursor amino acid levels and derived biogenic amines were analyzed prior to and at 0, 30 and 60 min following an acute mental stress test (with/without chronic mental stress) in 53 healthy subjects. Psychometric measurements of mental stress, depression and anxiety were collected. Kynurenine/tryptophan was influenced by the factor acute mental stress (KYN/TRP increase), no influence of the factor chronic mental stress or any interaction was found. Phenylalanine/tyrosine was influenced by the factor acute mental stress (PHE/TYR increase) as well as by chronic mental stress (PHE/TYR decrease). Interactions were not significant. KYN/TRP correlated with state anxiety values, while PHE/TYR correlated negatively with chronic stress parameters. Kynurenic acid was significantly reduced in the acute and quinolinic acid in the chronic mental stress condition. In conclusion, neurotransmitter precursor amino acid levels and derived biogenic amines are influenced by acute and chronic mental stress. Mechanisms beyond direct immunological responses may be relevant for the modulation of neurotransmitter metabolism such as effects on enzyme function through cofactor availability or stress hormones. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neuroimmunology of Major Psychiatric Disorders)
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13 pages, 934 KiB  
Article
Neuroendocrine and Inflammatory Effects of Childhood Trauma Following Psychosocial and Inflammatory Stress in Women with Remitted Major Depressive Disorder
by Laura L.M. Cassiers, Peter Niemegeers, Erik Fransen, Manuel Morrens, Peter De Boer, Luc Van Nueten, Stephan Claes, Bernard G.C. Sabbe and Filip Van Den Eede
Brain Sci. 2019, 9(12), 375; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci9120375 - 13 Dec 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3255
Abstract
The dysregulation of the inflammatory and neuroendocrine systems seen in major depressive disorder (MDD) may persist after remission and this is associated with a higher risk of relapse. This vulnerable subgroup may be characterized by a history of childhood trauma. In a single-blind [...] Read more.
The dysregulation of the inflammatory and neuroendocrine systems seen in major depressive disorder (MDD) may persist after remission and this is associated with a higher risk of relapse. This vulnerable subgroup may be characterized by a history of childhood trauma. In a single-blind randomized placebo-controlled crossover study, 21 women with remitted recurrent MDD and 18 healthy controls were exposed to psychosocial stress (Trier social stress test) or inflammatory stress (typhoid vaccine), or both, to investigate the effects of childhood trauma on the neuroendocrine and inflammatory responses. Childhood trauma was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and participants were dichotomized into a traumatized and non-traumatized group. Serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, interferon (IFN)-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interleukin (IL)-6 were measured at regular intervals after each intervention. The effects of trauma, time, and intervention on these parameters were modeled by fitting linear mixed models. Childhood trauma in itself did not have a main effect on the outcome measurements. However, an interactional effect of trauma with stressor type was found in the remitted MDD group: trauma was associated with higher cortisol levels only after adding immunological to psychosocial stress, and with lower TNF-α levels in response to vaccination. This suggests the existence of a vulnerable trauma-associated MDD endophenotype. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neuroimmunology of Major Psychiatric Disorders)
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