Understanding the Role of Glutamate and BDNF in Neurobiology of Depression: Data Mining of Stanley Neuropathology Consortium Integrative Database

Major Depressive Disorder is a common and chronic illness which is associated with significant impairment in quality of life. Rapid antidepressant effects of Ketamine have highlighted the role of glutamate neurotransmission and Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) signaling in Major Depressive Disorder. Postmortem brain studies provide a valuable tool to study the molecular changes in brain; however, access to postmortem brain tissue is limited to major academic centers. In this report, we performed exploratory analyses on datasets generated by researchers across the world and made available publicly via the Stanley Neuropathology Consortium Integrative Database. Using in-built statistical analyses tool of this database, we found reports that depressed subjects had increased levels of GluA2 mRNA in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex while reduced levels of SLC1A2 mRNA in white matter of frontal cortex. We also found reports of reduced levels of PSD95, GluN1 and TrkB proteins in frontal cortical brain regions of depressed subjects as compared to control subjects. None of these comparisons were statistically significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons.