The following is a summary of “Plasma circRNA HIPK2 as a putative biomarker for the diagnosis and prediction of therapeutic effects in major depressive disorder,” published in the December 2023 issue of Psychiatry by Yu et al.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have recently attracted attention in major depressive disorder (MDD) research due to their distinctive characteristics and potential diagnostic utility. These non-coding RNA molecules are prevalent in mammalian cells and have shown inherent stability in peripheral blood, offering promising prospects as biomarkers for various diseases, including MDD. This study specifically focused on circular RNA HIPK2 (circHIPK2) and its role as a potential biomarker for diagnosing MDD and predicting therapeutic responses.

To investigate circHIPK2’s relevance, the study recruited a cohort comprising 81 individuals diagnosed with MDD and 48 healthy individuals as controls. The expression levels of circHIPK2 in plasma were quantified using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Interestingly, the findings revealed a substantial increase in circHIPK2 expression levels in the plasma of individuals with MDD compared to healthy controls. This significant differential expression indicated the potential of circHIPK2 as a distinguishing factor between MDD patients and healthy individuals.

Moreover, the study assessed the diagnostic accuracy of circHIPK2 in identifying MDD cases. The analysis revealed promising results, demonstrating an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.796. This statistic indicates a strong specificity of 97.9% and moderate sensitivity of 60.4% in effectively diagnosing MDD using circHIPK2 levels in plasma.

Additionally, the study investigated whether changes in circHIPK2 expression levels over a 14-day period could predict the therapeutic response in MDD patients undergoing antidepressant treatment. The results showed that alterations in circHIPK2 levels exhibited a notable predictive value for the antidepressant effects, as indicated by an AUC of 0.819.

These findings suggest that circHIPK2 holds promise as a valuable biomarker for diagnosing MDD and potentially predicting the therapeutic outcomes of antidepressant treatments. Further research and validation studies could solidify its clinical utility in managing and treating MDD.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0009898123004965