Major depressive disorder (MDD) is more common in women than in men, and evidence of gender-related subtypes of depression is emerging. Previously identified blood-based transcriptomic biomarkers distinguished male and female subjects with MDD from those without the disorder. In the present pilot study, we investigated the performance of these biomarkers in pregnant and postpartum women with prior major depressive episodes, some of whom had current symptomatology. The symptom scores of 13 pregnant and 15 postpartum women were identified by the Inventory of Depressive Symptoms (IDS-SR-30) at the time of blood sampling. Blood levels of the 20 transcriptomic biomarkers and that of estrogen receptor 2 (ESR2), membrane progesterone receptor alpha and beta (mPRα, mPRβ) were measured. In pregnant women, transcript levels of ADCY3, ASAH1, ATP11C, CDR2, ESR2, FAM46A, mPRβ, NAGA, RAPH1, TLR7, and ZNF291/SCAPER showed significant association with IDS-SR-30 scores, of which ADCY3, FAM46A, RAPH1, and TLR7 were identified in previous studies for their diagnostic potential for major depression. ASAH1 and ATP11C were previously also identified as potential markers of treatment efficacy. In postpartum women, transcript levels of CAT, CD59, and RAPH1 demonstrated a trend of association with IDS-SR-30 scores. Transcript levels of ADCY3, ATP11C, FAM46A, RAPH1, and ZNF291/SCAPER correlated with ESR2 and mPRβ expressions in pregnant women, whereas these associations only existed for mPRβ in postpartum women. These results suggest that a blood biomarker panel can identify depression symptomatology in pregnant women and that expression of these biomarker genes are affected by estrogen and/or progesterone binding differently during pregnancy and postpartum.

重度抑郁症 (MDD) 在女性中比男性更常见，并且与性别相关的抑郁症亚型的证据正在出现。先前确定的基于血液的转录组生物标志物将患有 MDD 的男性和女性受试者与没有这种疾病的受试者区分开来。在目前的试点研究中，我们调查了这些生物标志物在曾有过重度抑郁发作的孕妇和产后妇女中的表现，其中一些人目前有症状。在采血时通过抑郁症状清单 (IDS-SR-30) 确定了 13 名孕妇和 15 名产后妇女的症状评分。20 种转录组生物标志物和雌激素受体 2 ( ESR2 )、膜孕激素受体 α 和 β ( mPRα , mPRβ ) 的血液水平) 进行了测量。在孕妇中，ADCY3、ASAH1、ATP11C、CDR2、ESR2、FAM46A、mPRβ、NAGA、RAPH1、TLR7和ZNF291/SCAPER的转录水平与 IDS-SR-30 评分显着相关，其中ADCY3、FAM46A、RAPH1、和TLR7在以前的研究中被确定为对重度抑郁症的诊断潜力。ASAH1 和 ATP11C以前也被确定为治疗效果的潜在标志物。在产后女性中，CAT、CD59和RAPH1的转录水平显示出与 IDS-SR-30 评分相关的趋势。ADCY3、ATP11C、FAM46A、RAPH1和ZNF291/SCAPER的转录水平与孕妇的ESR2和mPRβ表达相关，而这些关联只存在于mPRβ在产后妇女。这些结果表明，血液生物标志物组可以识别孕妇的抑郁症状，并且这些生物标志物基因的表达在怀孕和产后受雌激素和/或孕激素结合的不同影响。