Cerebrospinal fluid D-serine concentrations in major depressive disorder negatively correlate with depression severity.

BACKGROUND

D-serine is an endogenous co-agonist of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and plays an important role in glutamate neurotransmission. Several studies suggested the possible involvement of D-serine related in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders including major depression disorders (MDD). We tried to examine whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or plasma D-serine concentrations are altered in MDD and whether D-serine concentrations correlated with disease severity.

METHODS

26 MDD patients and 27 healthy controls matched for age, sex and ethnicity were enrolled. We measured amino acids in these samples using by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorometric detection.

RESULTS

D-serine and L-serine, precursor of D-serine, levels in CSF or plasma were not significantly different in patients of MDD compared to controls. Furthermore, a significant correlation between D-serine levels in CSF and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD)-17 score was observed (r = -0.65, p = 0.006). Furthermore, we found a positive correlation between CSF D-serine and HVA concentrations in MDD patients (r = 0.54, p = 0.007). CSF D-serine concentrations were correlated with those of plasma in MDD (r = 0.61, p = 0.01) but not in controls. In CSF, we also confirmed a significant correlation between D-serine and L-serine levels in MDD (r = 0.72, p < 0.0001) and controls (r = 0.70, p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

The study has some limitations; sample size was relatively small and most patients were medicated. We revealed that CSF D-serine concentrations were correlated with depression severity and HVA concentrations and further investigation were required to reveal the effect of medication and disease heterogeneity.