Lack of association between unipolar or bipolar depression and serum aquaporin-4 autoantibodies

Aquaporin-4 (AQP4), an astrocyte water channel protein, is the target antigen of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) autoantibody in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOsd), a group of inflammatory, demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system. Recently, a reduction in blood vessels coverage by AQP4-immunoreactive astrocytes was demonstrated in depressed patients, indicating a role for AQP4 in mood disorders. Moreover, a possible association between depression and serum AQP4-IgG was suggested in a case report of a treatment resistant depression (TRD) patient diagnosed with NMOsd with positive serum AQP4 autoantibodies. We investigated, for the first time, the presence of serum AQP4-IgG in patients with unipolar and bipolar depression and healthy controls (HCs). In this multicenter study, 25 major depressive disorder (MDD) and 25 bipolar disorder (BD) patients, during an acute major depressive episode (MDE), and 30 matched HCs were screened for the presence of serum AQP4-IgG, using a cell-based assay. The MDE patients underwent a repeated AQP4-IgG assessment at a 3-month follow-up visit. The MDE group (N = 50) had illness duration of 12.7 years (SD = 10.5), 12% of them were psychotropic medication-free and 26% were defined as TRD. All MDE patients and HCs, including three BD patients who experienced a manic switch, were seronegative for AQP4-IgG at baseline and follow-up assessments. In conclusion, contrary to our hypothesis, AQP4 autoantibodies were not detected in serum of unipolar and bipolar depressed patients. However, AQP4 may still play a role in the pathogenesis of mood disorders through different mechanisms of action such as altered brain AQP4 expression.