N. Muller et al., INVESTIGATIONS OF THE CELLULAR-IMMUNITY DURING DEPRESSION AND THE FREE INTERVAL - EVIDENCE FOR AN IMMUNE ACTIVATION IN AFFECTIVE PSYCHOSIS, Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry, 17(5), 1993, pp. 713-730
1. Results of investigations of the immune function in affective disor
ders are conflicting. Some authors described an immune suppression, ot
hers an immune activation in major depression. The authors performed a
study of cellular immunity in the MDD subtype endogenous depression.
23 patients suffering from endogenous depression were investigated dur
ing the depressive state, the results were compared with a group of 14
patients during the free interval and 51 healthy controls. 2. The lym
phocyte proliferation after incubation with diphteria- and tetanus tox
oid, mainly stimulating T-cells, was reduced but after incubation with
an antigen-cocktail, stimulating both, T- and B-cells, was increased
in patients during depression and during the free interval compared to
controls. 3. The CD3+- and CD4+-cells were significantly enhanced in
both groups of patients while the CD8+-cells showed no differences to
the controls. The ratio CD4+/CD8+ was increased in patients, too, as d
escribed in some autoimmune disorders. 4. The suppressor cell activity
was significantly reduced in the PWM-assay and in the PHA-assay. The
mixed lymphocyte culture showed a tendency to reduced suppressor cell
activity as well. 5. The results point to an immune activitation and t
o a disturbed control of the proliferative activity in affective psych
osis. A T-cell related defect, not compensated by an increased number
of CD3+- and CD4+-cells is discussed. 6. From our point of view, the c
onflicting results of psychoneuroimmunological investigations in depre
ssive disorders may be related to etiologically different subgroups of
depression. The diagnostic category of MDD is possibly one of the tra
ps in psychoneuroimmunology.