Age-related transcriptomic differences in peripheral blood of adolescents with major depressive disorder

In this study, we collected peripheral blood samples of a typical large population, including MDD cases and healthy controls from children and adolescents, and aimed to apply RNA-seq sequencing to comprehensively analyze the transcriptomic characteristics in adolescent depression patients. In comparison to healthy patients, we discovered that several immune response-associated genes were dysregulated in MDD patients, with the majority of these differential genes strongly correlated with the HAMD-17 and HAMA scores. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of drug therapy on transcription variations in teenagers with MDD and discovered that changes in these differentially expressed genes and immune cell types were unaffected by drug use, implying that the current medication has a lower effect on the MDD population. Notably, these transcriptional differences may disrupt the immune system's coordinated function during adolescent and adult depression, resulting in distinct changes in immune cells that contribute to the pathophysiology of depression in adolescents. Our findings may shed new light on the pathogenesis of depression in children and adolescents, potentially leading to more precise and effective treatment strategies.