TY - JOUR
T1 - Cause or consequence? Understanding the role of cortisol in the increased inflammation observed in depression
AU - Amasi-Hartoonian, Nare
AU - Sforzini, Luca
AU - Cattaneo, Annamaria
AU - Pariante, Carmine Maria
N1 - Funding Information:
Research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) , London, United Kingdom. This work was also supported by the Wellcome Trust strategy award to the Neuroimmunology of Mood Disorders and Alzheimer's Disease (NIMA) Consortium (104025), which is also funded by Janssen, GlaxoSmithKline, Lundbeck and Pfizer.
Funding Information:
The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:, Research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), London, United Kingdom. This work was also supported by the Wellcome Trust strategy award to the Neuroimmunology of Mood Disorders and Alzheimer's Disease (NIMA) Consortium (104025), which is also funded by Janssen, GlaxoSmithKline, Lundbeck and Pfizer. Dr. Sforzini and Prof. Pariante have received research funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 853966–2, as part of the EU-PEARL project. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA. Prof. Pariante has also received research funding from Johnson & Johnson as part of a program of research on depression and inflammation and speakers and consultation fees from Lundbeck and Boehringer Ingelheim.
Funding Information:
Dr. Sforzini and Prof. Pariante have received research funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 853966–2 , as part of the EU-PEARL project. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA . Prof. Pariante has also received research funding from Johnson & Johnson as part of a program of research on depression and inflammation and speakers and consultation fees from Lundbeck and Boehringer Ingelheim.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors
PY - 2022/6
Y1 - 2022/6
N2 - Glucocorticoids such as cortisol are a class of steroid hormones that play an important role in co-ordinating the body's response to stress. Elevated cortisol levels and increased inflammation have frequently been reported in patients with depression. The currently accepted ‘glucocorticoid resistance’ model posits this increased inflammation as a consequence of reduced sensitivity to cortisol's putative anti-inflammatory action. However, opposing evidence has accumulated that supports a more recent model, which instead proposes that cortisol possesses immune potentiating properties and may thus directly cause the increased inflammation seen in depression. Despite all of this, a clear explanation of the neuroendocrine mechanism that contributes to the development of depression is still lacking and thus requires further investigation in improved future studies.
AB - Glucocorticoids such as cortisol are a class of steroid hormones that play an important role in co-ordinating the body's response to stress. Elevated cortisol levels and increased inflammation have frequently been reported in patients with depression. The currently accepted ‘glucocorticoid resistance’ model posits this increased inflammation as a consequence of reduced sensitivity to cortisol's putative anti-inflammatory action. However, opposing evidence has accumulated that supports a more recent model, which instead proposes that cortisol possesses immune potentiating properties and may thus directly cause the increased inflammation seen in depression. Despite all of this, a clear explanation of the neuroendocrine mechanism that contributes to the development of depression is still lacking and thus requires further investigation in improved future studies.
KW - Cortisol
KW - Glucocorticoid receptor
KW - Glucocorticoid resistance
KW - Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis
KW - Inflammation
KW - Major depressive disorder
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131075734&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.coemr.2022.100356
DO - 10.1016/j.coemr.2022.100356
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85131075734
SN - 2451-9650
VL - 24
JO - Current Opinion in Endocrine and Metabolic Research
JF - Current Opinion in Endocrine and Metabolic Research
M1 - 100356
ER -
