Proteins of the Akt1/GSK-3β signaling pathway in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with affective disorders

The Akt1/GSK-3β signaling pathway is involved in the regulation of biological processes in nerve cells. Here we studied the intracellular proteins Akt1 and GSK-3β and their phosphoforms in patients with affective disorders. Sixty patients with diagnoses of depressive episodes, major depressive disorder, and bipolar affective disorder (BAD) and 34 mentally and somatically healthy subjects were examined. Proteins of the Akt1/GSK-3β signaling pathway (total glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β), phospho-serine-9-GSK-3β, total protein kinase Akt1, phospho-serine-473-Akt1) were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells using the immunoblotting technique. High levels of total GSK-3β were found in groups of patients with affective disorders. Patients with recurrent depressive disorder had an increased level of total GSK-3β as compared with the level in depressive episode. The level of total Akt1 in patients decreased as compared with the control group. Patients with depressive disorder had decreased levels of phospho-serine-473-Akt1. Our results confirm the hypothesis of the involvement of glycogen synthase kinase-3β in the pathogenesis of affective disorders.