Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28509900›Full record

ArticleTranslational psychiatry2017

Altered expression of BDNF, BDNF pro-peptide and their precursor proBDNF in brain and liver tissues from psychiatric disorders: rethinking the brain-liver axis.

B Yang, Q Ren, J-C Zhang, Q-X Chen, K Hashimoto

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Translational psychiatry, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 90 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
90citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
10.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

90 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 194 citations in OpenAlex.

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  16. Well-being and biological cost of family members affected by substance use disorder of others.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2025
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30 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

B YangDivision of Clinical Neuroscience, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba, Japan.
Q RenDivision of Clinical Neuroscience, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba, Japan.
J-C ZhangDivision of Clinical Neuroscience, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba, Japan.
Q-X ChenDepartment of Neurosurgery, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
K HashimotoDivision of Clinical Neuroscience, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba, Japan.
Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba University · JPRenmin Hospital of Wuhan University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has a role in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders. The precursor proBDNF is converted to mature BDNF and BDNF pro-peptide, the N-terminal fragment of proBDNF; however, the precise function of these proteins in psychiatric disorders is unknown. We sought to determine whether expression of these proteins is altered in the brain and peripheral tissues from patients with psychiatric disorders. We measured protein expression of proBDNF, mature BDNF and BDNF pro-peptide in the parietal cortex, cerebellum, liver and spleen from control, major depressive disorder (MDD), schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) groups. The levels of mature BDNF in the parietal cortex from MDD, SZ and BD groups were significantly lower than the control group, whereas the levels of BDNF pro-peptide in this area were significantly higher than controls. In contrast, the levels of proBDNF and BDNF pro-peptide in the cerebellum of MDD, SZ and BD groups were significantly lower than controls. Moreover, the levels of mature BDNF from the livers of MDD, SZ and BD groups were significantly higher than the control group. The levels of mature BDNF in the spleen did not differ among the four groups. Interestingly, there was a negative correlation between mature BDNF in the parietal cortex and mature BDNF in the liver in all the subjects. These findings suggest that abnormalities in the production of mature BDNF and BDNF pro-peptide in the brain and liver might have a role in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders, indicating a brain-liver axis in psychiatric disorders.

Indexed as

AdultBipolar DisorderBrainBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorCadaverDiagnosisFemaleHumansLiverMajor Depressive DisorderMaleMiddle AgedParietal LobeSchizophreniaBDNF protein, humanBrain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor

Identifiers

PMID28509900
PMCPMC5534963
OpenAlexW2614851485

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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.