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Objective To investigate the correlation between the polymorphism of SIRT1 locus rs3740051 and the structure of brain gray matter in patients with first-onset untreated depression as well as in healthy controls. Methods Clinical data of 75 patients (15 males and 60 females) with first-onset depression treated in our hospital from March 2018 to September 2019 were recruited, and another 43 volunteers were enrolled as healthy controls. Their brain structural data were collected from high resolution images after magnetic resonance imaging, and the allelic and genotypic frequencies of rs3740051 polymorphisms of SIRT1 gene were determined with DNA sequencing in the 2 groups. Based on the detected genotypes, the depression patients and healthy controls were classified into 4 groups: depression (AA), depression (AG/GG), control (AA) and control (AG/GG) groups. The interaction effects of SIRT1 rs3740051 genotypes (AA or AG/GG) and disease diagnosis (depression or control), as well as their respective main effects on brain gray matter, on brain gray matter volume were analyzed. Results ① Diagnostic and genotype interaction effects on the gray matter volume were shown in all the 4 groups. In the left parahippocampal gyrus and left inferior parietal marginal angular gyrus, the gray matter volume was larger in the depression (AG/GG) group than depression (AA) group (P < 0.05), and larger in the control (AA) group than control (AG/GG) group (P < 0.05). ②Diagnostic main effects on the gray matter volume existed in all the 4 groups. In the left inferior parietal marginal angular gyrus, the gray matter volume of the depression (AG/GG) group was greater than that of control (AG/GG) group (P < 0.05), though the depression (AA) group and control (AA) group showed no significant difference (P>0.05). At the right precuneus, the gray matter volume was larger in both depression (AG/GG) and depression (AA) groups as compared with the corresponding control groups (P < 0.05). ③Genotype main effects were also found on gray matter volume of the 4 groups. In the right medial superior frontal gyrus and left supplementary motor area, the gray matter volume was larger in both depression (AG/GG) and control (AG/GG) groups than the corresponding (AA) genotype groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion The polymorphism of SIRT1 rs3740051 may be related to the alteration of brain gray matter volume in patients with depression. Patients carrying G allele (AG/GG) have more changes in gray matter volume than those not carrying (AA), and these changes may play a role in the pathogenesis of depression.

Objective To investigate the microstructural alternations of the white matter nerve circuit detected by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in young adults aged 18-25 years with first-episode major depression disorder (MDD) and explore the association of such changes with the symptoms and disease course of depression. Methods From June to December, 2018, 23 young adults aged 18-25 years with the diagnosis of MDD were recruited from the Department of Medical Psychology of our hospital as the depression group, with 25 age-matched healthy volunteers as the control group. All the participants were tested using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CDS-D) and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and DTI images were obtained by magnetic resonance scanning and analyzed using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) method. Correction for multiple comparisons was carried out using a threshold-free cluster enhancement (TFCE) method. The differences in the fractional anisotropy (FA), radial diffusivity (RD), mean diffusion (MD) and axial diffusivity (AD) between the 2 groups were analyzed. The correlations of FA, RD, MD and AD values in the brain regions showing microstructural alternations with the PHQ-9 scores and the disease course were also analyzed. Results Compared with the healthy volunteers, the patients with first-episode MDD showed significantly decreased FA values in the left superior longitudinal tract, the right anterior thalamic radiation and the bilateral corticospinal tract (P < 0.05) and increased RD values in the left superior longitudinal tract (P < 0.05); the MD and AD values did not differ significantly between the two groups. In the patients with MDD, the RD values of the left superior longitudinal tract was positively correlated with the disease course (r=0.534, P < 0.05), and the FA values of the left corticospinal tract was negatively correlated with the disease course (r=-0.659, P < 0.05); The FA and RD values of the left superior longitudinal tract, the right anterior thalamic radiation and the bilateral corticospinal tract were not significantly correlated with the PHQ-9 scores (P>0.05). Conclusion The patients with MDD in their early adulthood have obvious alternations of the white matter fiber nerve circuit, which can be related with the disease course of MDD.