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Polygenic dissection of major depression clinical heterogeneity

Molecular Psychiatry volume 21, pages 516–522 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

The molecular mechanisms underlying major depressive disorder (MDD) are largely unknown. Limited success of previous genetics studies may be attributable to heterogeneity of MDD, aggregating biologically different subtypes. We examined the polygenic features of MDD and two common clinical subtypes (typical and atypical) defined by symptom profiles in a large sample of adults with established diagnoses. Data were from 1530 patients of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) and 1700 controls mainly from the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR). Diagnoses of MDD and its subtypes were based on DSM-IV symptoms. Genetic overlap of MDD and subtypes with psychiatric (MDD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia) and metabolic (body mass index (BMI), C-reactive protein, triglycerides) traits was evaluated via genomic profile risk scores (GPRS) generated from meta-analysis results of large international consortia. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-heritability of MDD and subtypes was also estimated. MDD was associated with psychiatric GPRS, while no association was found for GPRS of metabolic traits. MDD subtypes had differential polygenic signatures: typical was strongly associated with schizophrenia GPRS (odds ratio (OR)=1.54, P=7.8e-9), while atypical was additionally associated with BMI (OR=1.29, P=2.7e-4) and triglycerides (OR=1.21, P=0.006) GPRS. Similar results were found when only the highly discriminatory symptoms of appetite/weight were used to define subtypes. SNP-heritability was 32% for MDD, 38% and 43% for subtypes with, respectively, decreased (typical) and increased (atypical) appetite/weight. In conclusion, MDD subtypes are characterized by partially distinct polygenic liabilities and may represent more homogeneous phenotypes. Disentangling MDD heterogeneity may help the psychiatric field moving forward in the search for molecular roots of depression.

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Acknowledgements

Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety and Netherland Twin Register: funding was obtained from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and MagW/ZonMW grants Middelgroot-911-09-032, Spinozapremie 56-464-14192, Geestkracht program of the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMW 10-000-1002), Center for Medical Systems Biology (CSMB, NWO Genomics), Genetic influences on stability and change in psychopathology from childhood to young adulthood (ZonMW 912-10-020), NBIC/BioAssist/RK (2008.024), Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure (BBMRI–NL, 184.021.007), VU University’s Institute for Health and Care Research (EMGO+) and Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam (NCA); the European Science Council (ERC Advanced, 230374). Part of the genotyping and analyses were funded by the Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN) of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository (NIMH U24 MH068457-06), the Avera Institute, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (USA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH R01 HD042157-01A1, MH081802, Grand Opportunity grants 1RC2 MH089951 and 1RC2 MH089995). Computing was supported by BiG Grid, the Dutch e-Science Grid, which is financially supported by NWO. Funding for this research is also provided by EU FP7 MooDFOOD Project ‘Multi-country cOllaborative project on the rOle of Diet, FOod-related behaviour, and Obesity in the prevention of Depression’, Grant agreement no. 613598. The CHARGE inflammation working group is supported by the following grants: N01-HC 25195 1RO1 HL64753; R01 HL076784; 1 R01 AG028321. F Lamers is supported by a FP7-Marie Curie Career Integration Grant (PCIG12-GA-2012-334065). We are grateful to the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (MDD group) and to GIANT consortium for providing the summary statistics for meta-analyses of, respectively, MDD and BMI after removal of the Dutch GWAS cohort.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center/GGZ inGeest, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Y Milaneschi, F Lamers, W J Peyrot, R Jansen & B W J H Penninx

  2. Department of Biological Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    A Abdellaoui, G Willemsen, J-J Hottenga, H Mbarek & D I Boomsma

  3. Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    A Dehghan

  4. Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    C Lu

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Milaneschi, Y., Lamers, F., Peyrot, W. et al. Polygenic dissection of major depression clinical heterogeneity. Mol Psychiatry 21, 516–522 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2015.86

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