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PTSD is associated with neuroimmune suppression: evidence from PET imaging and postmortem transcriptomic studies

Author

Listed:
  • Shivani Bhatt

    (Yale University)

  • Ansel T. Hillmer

    (Yale School of Medicine
    Yale School of Medicine
    Yale School of Medicine)

  • Matthew J. Girgenti

    (Yale School of Medicine
    National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Clinical Neurosciences Division, VA Connecticut Healthcare System)

  • Aleksandra Rusowicz

    (Yale School of Medicine)

  • Michael Kapinos

    (Yale School of Medicine)

  • Nabeel Nabulsi

    (Yale School of Medicine
    Yale School of Medicine)

  • Yiyun Huang

    (Yale School of Medicine
    Yale School of Medicine)

  • David Matuskey

    (Yale School of Medicine
    Yale School of Medicine
    Yale School of Medicine)

  • Gustavo A. Angarita

    (Yale School of Medicine
    Yale School of Medicine)

  • Irina Esterlis

    (Yale University
    Yale School of Medicine
    Yale School of Medicine
    National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Clinical Neurosciences Division, VA Connecticut Healthcare System)

  • Margaret T. Davis

    (Yale School of Medicine)

  • Steven M. Southwick

    (Yale School of Medicine
    National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Clinical Neurosciences Division, VA Connecticut Healthcare System)

  • Matthew J. Friedman

    (Dartmouth Medical School)

  • Ronald S. Duman

    (Yale School of Medicine)

  • Richard E. Carson

    (Yale School of Medicine
    Yale School of Medicine)

  • John H. Krystal

    (Yale School of Medicine
    National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Clinical Neurosciences Division, VA Connecticut Healthcare System)

  • Robert H. Pietrzak

    (Yale School of Medicine
    National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Clinical Neurosciences Division, VA Connecticut Healthcare System)

  • Kelly P. Cosgrove

    (Yale University
    Yale School of Medicine
    Yale School of Medicine
    Yale School of Medicine)

Abstract

Despite well-known peripheral immune activation in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there are no studies of brain immunologic regulation in individuals with PTSD. [11C]PBR28 Positron Emission Tomography brain imaging of the 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO), a microglial biomarker, was conducted in 23 individuals with PTSD and 26 healthy individuals—with or without trauma exposure. Prefrontal-limbic TSPO availability in the PTSD group was negatively associated with PTSD symptom severity and was significantly lower than in controls. Higher C-reactive protein levels were also associated with lower prefrontal-limbic TSPO availability and PTSD severity. An independent postmortem study found no differential gene expression in 22 PTSD vs. 22 controls, but showed lower relative expression of TSPO and microglia-associated genes TNFRSF14 and TSPOAP1 in a female PTSD subgroup. These findings suggest that peripheral immune activation in PTSD is associated with deficient brain microglial activation, challenging prevailing hypotheses positing neuroimmune activation as central to stress-related pathophysiology.

Suggested Citation

  • Shivani Bhatt & Ansel T. Hillmer & Matthew J. Girgenti & Aleksandra Rusowicz & Michael Kapinos & Nabeel Nabulsi & Yiyun Huang & David Matuskey & Gustavo A. Angarita & Irina Esterlis & Margaret T. Davi, 2020. "PTSD is associated with neuroimmune suppression: evidence from PET imaging and postmortem transcriptomic studies," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-15930-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15930-5
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