OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to evaluate the utility of mitogen-
induced lymphocyte proliferation assays in clinical research in
psychoimmunology. METHOD: They examined 23 depressed patients and 23
matched comparison subjects with this assay. There were no significant
differences between these groups. They then combined the results of this
study with the results of their previous study of 20 depressed patients and
20 comparison subjects to examine possible determinants of lymphocyte
proliferation in depression. RESULTS: Depressed patients with lower
proliferative responses than their matched comparison subjects had lower
depression subscale, anergia subscale, and total scores on the Brief
Psychiatric Rating Scale than did patients with higher proliferative
responses than their matched comparison subjects. This finding was
unexpected and unexplained. Depressed patients with lower proliferative
responses than their matched comparison subjects also had fewer obsessions
and compulsions and less psychomotor agitation according to the Schedule
for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia interview than did patients with
higher proliferative responses than their matched comparison subjects.
Stepwise discriminant analysis and cluster analysis contributed little
further understanding of the determinants of in vitro lymphocyte
proliferation of cells from depressed patients. CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal
studies using multiple serial determinations of mitogen-induced lymphocyte
proliferation are the minimal design needed to make this assay useful in
further evaluating any immune system changes in depression.Abstract Teaser