Defective NF-kB transcription factor as the mediator of inflammatory responses: a study on depressed Iranian medical students

BACKGROUND NF-kB is a transcription factor that is a downstream target of several cell signaling systems including TLRs. Defective expression of the molecule can lead to inappropriate immune responses. Previous studies revealed that depression can affect immune responses, but its molecular mechanisms are yet to be fully understood. Thus, the main aim of this study was to identify if mRNA levels of NF-kB are changed in the PBMCs isolated from Iranian depressed medical students. METHODS This cross-sectional study was done on 38 Iranian depressed medical students and 43 healthy students as a control group. The mRNA levels of NF-kB were assessed in parallel with beta-actin (as the housekeeping gene) using Real-Time PCR technique. RESULTS Our results showed that mRNA levels of NF-kB were significantly decreased in isolated PBMCs from depressed patients compared to healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS According to the results obtained in the present study, it seems that depressed patients are unable to appropriately express NF-kB at mRNA levels which may in turn lead to defective molecule expression.