Relationships Between Circulating Tenascin-C Levels and Gonadal Hormones in Male Patients with Depressive Disorder: A Retrospective, Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE Tenascin-C (TNC) is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein closely associated with the progression of psychiatric disorders. The present study was performed to investigate the possible association between serum gonadal hormones and TNC levels in male patients with depressive disorder. MATERIALS AND METHODS We measured serum TNC levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, we investigated the influence of testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2) on TNC levels in primary neuronal cultures. RESULTS Patients with depression had lower levels of T, free tri-iodothyronine (FT3), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and the T/E2 ratio than healthy control patients. Levels of TNC and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were significantly higher in patients than in healthy volunteers. Serum TNC concentrations were negatively associated with levels of E2 and T and with the T/E2 ratio. Levels of TNC, TSH, and FT3 and the T/E2 ratio were predictors of depression. Among men with depression, TNC was negatively associated with T levels and with the T/E2 ratio. Incubating pheochromocytoma 12 cells with the combination of T and E2 greatly decreased TNC levels in the culture medium. CONCLUSION Increased TNC levels may predict imbalance between T and E2 in patients with depression, and gonadal hormones may modulate TNC expression in vivo.