ReviewAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences2009
Cytokines and glucocorticoid receptor signaling. Relevance to major depression.
Review in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 138 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
138 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 329 citations in OpenAlex.
- The underlying mechanism of physical exercise on neurodegenerative diseases: the mediating role of psychological stress and resilience: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of Cerebrospinal Fluid Cytokine and Tryptophan Catabolite Alterations in Psychiatric Patients: Comparisons Between Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and Depression.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2018Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of blood cytokine network alterations in psychiatric patients: comparisons between schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression.Molecular psychiatry · 2016Pooled it
- Testing the predictive value of peripheral gene expression for nonremission following citalopram treatment for major depression.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2015Trial
- Trial
- Relationship between serum CA125, prolactin and cortisol levels with disease stage and pain level in endometriosis patients.Narra J · 2026Article
- Cytokines and adolescent anorexia nervosa: a case-control study.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Physical health and the complex role of PTSD symptoms in obesity: evidence from an Italian cohort of maltreated children and adolescents.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Obesity and Depression.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Pathophysiology of depression and anxiety in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.World journal of gastrointestinal pathophysiology · 2025Review
- Obesity and Depression: A Pathophysiotoxic Relationship.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Investigating the visceral adiposity-major depressive disorder link: a cross-sectional NHANES 2011-2014 analysis and Mendelian randomization study.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2025Article
- From Formulation to Function: γ‑Oryzanol Solid Dispersion Development and Its Neuroprotective Effects on the Depression Model.ACS omega · 2025Article
- Unveiling the Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Antidepressants: A Systematic Review of Human Studies over the Last Decade.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Inflammatory markers and suicidal behavior: A comprehensive review of emerging evidence.Annals of general psychiatry · 2025Review
- Regulation of Stress-Induced Immunosuppression in the Context of Neuroendocrine, Cytokine, and Cellular Processes.Biology · 2025Review
- The role of the microbiota-gut-brain axis in schizophrenia: an immunological perspective.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Depressive Symptoms and Osteoporosis in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of NHANES and HRS Data.Geriatric orthopaedic surgery & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Inflammatory mediators in major depression and bipolar disorder.Translational psychiatry · 2024Review
- Hippocampal volume and resting-state functional connectivity on magnetic resonance imaging in patients with Parkinson and depression.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2024Article
78 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Data suggest that the activation of immune responses and the release of inflammatory cytokines may play a role in the pathophysiology of major depression. One mechanism by which cytokines may contribute to depression is through their effects on the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Altered GR function in depression has been demonstrated by neuroendocrine challenge tests that reliably reveal reduced GR sensitivity as manifested by nonsuppression of cortisol following dexamethasone administration in vivo and lack of immune suppression following administration of glucocorticoids in vitro. Relevant to the GR, cytokines have been shown to decrease GR expression, block translocation of the GR from cytoplasm to nucleus, and disrupt GR-DNA binding through nuclear protein-protein interactions. In addition, cytokines have been shown to increase the expression of the relatively inert GR beta isoform. Specific cytokine signaling molecules that have been shown to be involved in the disruption of GR activity include p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, which is associated with reduced GR translocation, and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)5, which binds to GR in the nucleus. Nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) also has been shown to lead to GR suppression through mutually inhibitory GR-NF-kappaB nuclear interactions. Interestingly, several antidepressants have been shown to enhance GR function, as has activation of protein kinase A (PKA). Antidepressants and PKA activation have also been found to inhibit inflammatory cytokines and their signaling pathways, suggesting that drugs that target both inflammatory responses and the GR may have special efficacy in the treatment of depression.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.