ArticleBrain, behavior, and immunity2011
Plasma kynurenine levels are elevated in suicide attempters with major depressive disorder.
Article in Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04159207 (A Longitudinal Study of Inflammatory Pathways in Depression), which is not on this map. Cited by 119 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
A Longitudinal Study of Inflammatory Pathways in Depression
Who cites it
119 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 245 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Association betweenFrontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- The kynurenine pathway in major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia: a meta-analysis of 101 studies.Molecular psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- A Specific Inflammatory Profile Underlying Suicide Risk? Systematic Review of the Main Literature Findings.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Role of Kynurenine pathway and its metabolites in mood disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical studies.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2018Pooled it
- The interaction between kynurenine pathway, suicidal ideation and augmentation therapy with minocycline in patients with treatment-resistant depression.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Plasma metabolomic profiling of a ketamine and placebo crossover trial of major depressive disorder and healthy control subjects.Psychopharmacology · 2018Trial
- Targeting inflammation to influence mood following spinal cord injury: a randomized clinical trial.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2015Trial
- Metabolic pathways associated with cardiometabolic risk effects on cognition in middle-aged adults: the CARDIA study.Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society · 2026Article
- Inflammation and treatment strategies for suicidal behavior.The world journal of biological psychiatry : the official journal of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry · 2026Review
- Distinctive behavioral and neurochemical profile of social stress in male and female adolescent mice.Biology of sex differences · 2026Article
- Kynurenine pathway metabolites are increased in inflammatory depression and decrease with omega-3 treatment.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Article
- Low 5HTJournal of neurochemistry · 2026Review
- Kynurenine pathway dysregulation in major depressive disorder: the convergence of excitotoxicity, neuroinflammation, and oxidative stress.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Review
- Review
- Contextual Regulation of the Kynurenine Pathway and Its Relevance for Personalized Psychiatry.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Review
- Blood-Based Metabolomic Biomarkers and Personality Traits in Major Depressive Disorder: Toward an Integrated Framework for Precision Psychiatry.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Kynurenine Pathway Metabolites as Mediators of Exercise-Induced Mood Enhancement, Fatigue Resistance, and Neuroprotection.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- A history of suicide attempts among individuals with schizophrenia is associated with tryptophan degradation via the salivary kynurenine pathway.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
59 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
8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundInflammation has been linked to depression and suicide risk. One inflammatory process that has been minimally investigated in this regard is cytokine-stimulated production of kynurenine (KYN) from tryptophan (TRP). Recent data suggest that KYN increases in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are associated with depressive symptoms secondary to immune activation. KYN may alter dopaminergic and glutamatergic tone, thereby contributing to increased arousal, agitation and impulsivity - important risk factors in suicide. We hypothesized that patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and a history of suicide attempt would have higher levels of KYN than depressed nonattempters, who in turn would have higher levels than healthy volunteers.
methodsPlasma KYN, TRP, and neopterin were assayed by high performance liquid chromatography in three groups: healthy volunteers (n=31) and patients with MDD with (n=14) and without (n=16) history of suicide attempt. Analysis of variance tested for group differences in KYN levels.
resultsKYN levels differed across groups (F=4.03, df=(2,58), and p=0.023): a priori planned contrasts showed that KYN was higher in the MDD suicide attempter subgroup compared with MDD non-attempters (t=2.105, df=58, and p=0.040), who did not differ from healthy volunteers (t=0.418, df=58, and p=0.677). In post hoc testing, KYN but not TRP was associated with attempt status, and only suicide attempters exhibited a positive correlation of the cytokine activation marker neopterin with the KYN:TRP ratio, suggesting that KYN production may be influenced by inflammatory processes among suicide attempters.
conclusionThese preliminary results suggest that KYN and related molecular pathways may be implicated in the pathophysiology of suicidal behavior.
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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.