Investigation of blood mRNA biomarkers for suicidality in an independent sample
Open accessAbstract
Changes in the blood expression levels of SAT1, PTEN, MAP3K3 and MARCKS genes have been reported as biomarkers of high versus low suicidality state (Le-Niculescu et al.). Here, we investigate these expression biomarkers in the Genome-Based Therapeutic Drugs for Depression (GENDEP) study, of patients with major depressive disorder on a 12-week antidepressant treatment. Blood gene expression levels were available at baseline and week 8 for patients who experienced suicidal ideation during the study (n=20) versus those who did not (n=37). The analysis is well powered to detect the effect sizes reported in the original paper. Within either group, there was no significant change in the expression of these four genes over the course of the study, despite increasing suicidal ideation or initiation of antidepressant treatment. Comparison of the groups showed that the gene expression did not differ between patients with or without treatment-related suicidality. This independent study does not support the validity of the proposed biomarkers.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
PTEN has been reported as a biomarker of a high versus low suicidality state, although a subsequent report did not corroborate the findings.
“Regarding PTEN, this gene has been reported as a biomarker of a high versus low suicidality state [42], although a subsequent report did not corroborate the findings [43].”
From The Impact of BDNF, NTRK2, NGFR, CREB1, GSK3B, AKT, MAPK1, MTOR, PTEN, ARC, and SYN1 Genetic Polymorphisms in Antidepressant Treatment Response Phenotypes (2023) · cites this paper as [43]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Williams, J. B. W., & First, M. B. (2013) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.104 · Cited by 109,841 · see citing works
An inventory for measuring depression
BECK, A. T. (1961) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004 · Cited by 38,032 · see citing works
Hamilton, M. (1960) · Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry · doi:10.1136/jnnp.23.1.56 · Cited by 32,817 · see citing works
A new depression scale designed to be sensitive to change
Montgomery, S. A., & Åsberg, M. (1979) · British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.134.4.382 · Cited by 13,962 · see citing works
Lim, S. S., Vos, T., Flaxman, A. D., Danaei, G., Shibuya, K., Adair-Rohani, H., AlMazroa, M. A., Amann, M., Anderson, H. R., Andrews, K. G., et al. (2012) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(12)61766-8 · Cited by 11,805 · see citing works
Adjusting batch effects in microarray expression data using empirical Bayes methods
Johnson, W. E., Li, C., & Rabinovic, A. (2007) · Biostatistics · doi:10.1093/biostatistics/kxj037 · Cited by 8,658 · see citing works
Selective Cortical Undercutting As a Means of Modifying and Studying Frontal Lobe Function in Man
Scoville, W. B. (1949) · Journal of neurosurgery · doi:10.3171/jns.1949.6.1.0065 · Cited by 7,373 · see citing works
SCAN: Schedules fonr Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry
Wing, J. K. (1990) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1990.01810180089012 · Cited by 2,517 · see citing works
Cross-national epidemiology of major depression and bipolar disorder
Weissman, M. M. (1996) · JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association · doi:10.1001/jama.1996.03540040037030 · Cited by 2,302 · see citing works
Prediction of Suicide in Psychiatric Patients
Pokorny, A. D. (1983) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1983.01790030019002 · Cited by 749 · see citing works
Rosenfield, S., & Mouzon, D. M. (2012) · Handbooks of sociology and social research · doi:10.1007/978-94-007-4276-5_14 · Cited by 553 · see citing works
Genome-Wide Pharmacogenetics of Antidepressant Response in the GENDEP Project
Uher, R., Perroud, N. A., Ng, M., Hauser, J., Henigsberg, N., Maier, W., Mors, O. N., Placentino, A., Rietschel, M., Souery, D., et al. (2010) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09070932 · Cited by 350 · see citing works
Self-citationSchedules for clinical assessment in neuropsychiatry
Rehman, F. (2011) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.c7160 · Cited by 298 · see citing works
Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2011) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2011.713 · Cited by 253 · see citing works
The last appointment before suicide: is suicide intent communicated?
Isometsä, E. T., Heikkinen, M. E., MARTTUNEN, M. J., HENRIKSSON, M. M., Aro, H. M., & Lönnqvist, J. K. (1995) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.152.6.919 · Cited by 251 · see citing works
Patterns of gene expression in the limbic system of suicides with and without major depression
Sequeira, A., Klempan, T. A., Canetti, L., ffrench-Mullen, J. M. H., Benkelfat, C., Rouleau, G. A., & Turecki, G. (2007) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/sj.mp.4001969 · Cited by 195 · see citing works
Discovery and validation of blood biomarkers for suicidality
Le-Niculescu, H., Levey, D. F., Ayalew, M., Palmer, L., Gavrin, L. M., Jain, N., Winiger, E., Bhosrekar, S., Shankar, G., Radel, M., et al. (2013) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/mp.2013.95 · Cited by 193 · see citing works
Implication of SSAT by Gene Expression and Genetic Variation in Suicide and Major Depression
Sequeira, A., Gwadry, F. G., ffrench‐Mullen, J. M. H., Canetti, L., Gingras, Y., Casero, R. A., Rouleau, G. A., Benkelfat, C., & Turecki, G. (2006) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.63.1.35 · Cited by 177 · see citing works
Perroud, N. A., Uher, R., Ng, M., Guipponi, M., Hauser, J., Henigsberg, N., Maier, W., Mors, O. N., Gennarelli, M., Rietschel, M., et al. (2010) · The Pharmacogenomics Journal · doi:10.1038/tpj.2010.70 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Self-citationLaje, G., Allen, A. S., Akula, N., Manji, H. K., Rush, A. J., & McMahon, F. J. (2009) · Pharmacogenetics and Genomics · doi:10.1097/fpc.0b013e32832e4bcd · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Powell, T. R., Schalkwyk, L. C., Heffernan, A. L., Breen, G. D., Lawrence, T., Price, T., FARMER, A. E., Aitchison, K. J., Craig, I., Danese, A., et al. (2012) · European Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2012.09.009 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Self-citationGenetic and epigenetic analysis of SSAT gene dysregulation in suicidal behavior
Guipponi, M., Deutsch, S., Kohler, K., Perroud, N. A., Gal, F. L., Vessaz, M., Laforge, T., Petit, B., Jollant, F., Guillaume, S., et al. (2008) · American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B Neuropsychiatric Genetics · doi:10.1002/ajmg.b.30901 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Self-citationProfiling brain expression of the spermidine/spermine N1‐acetyltransferase 1 (SAT1) gene in suicide
Klempan, T. A., Rujescu, D., Mérette, C., Himmelman, C., Sequeira, A., Canetti, L., Fiori, L. M., Schneider, B., Bureau, A., & Turecki, G. (2009) · American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B Neuropsychiatric Genetics · doi:10.1002/ajmg.b.30920 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Perroud, N., Uher, R., Marusic, A., Rietschel, M., Mors, O., Henigsberg, N., Hauser, J., Maier, W., Souery, D., Placentino, A., et al. (2009) · BMC Medicine · doi:10.1186/1741-7015-7-60 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Self-citationGlobal gene expression profiling of the polyamine system in suicide completers
Fiori, L. M., Bureau, A., Labbe, A., Croteau, J., Noël, S., Mérette, C., & Turecki, G. (2011) · The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1017/s1461145710001574 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Combining scales to assess suicide risk
Blasco-Fontecilla, H., Delgado‐Gómez, D., Ruiz-Hernández, D., Aguado, D., Baca‐García, E., & López‐Castromán, J. (2012) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2012.06.013 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Biomarkers in psychiatry: how close are we?
Kobeissy, F. H., Alawieh, A. M., Mondello, S., Boustany, R., & Gold, M. S. (2013) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2012.00114 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Biological Indicators of Suicide Risk in Youth With Mood Disorders: What Do We Know So Far?
Lewitzka, U., Doucette, S., Seemüller, F., Grof, P., & Duffy, A. C. (2012) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-012-0329-0 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Psychiatric blood biomarkers: avoiding jumping to premature negative or positive conclusions
Niculescu, A. B., Levey, D. F., Le-Niculescu, H., Niculescu, E. M., Kurian, S. M., & Salomon, D. R. (2015) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/mp.2014.180 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Depression and suicide risk prediction models using blood-derived multi-omics data
Bhak, Y., Jeong, H.-O., Cho, Y. S., Jeon, S., Cho, J., Gim, J., Jeon, Y., Blažytė, A., Park, S. G., Kim, H., et al. (2019) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-019-0595-2 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Consoloni, J.-L., Ibrahim, E. C., Lefebvre, M., Zendjidjian, X. Y., Olié, É., Mazzola‐Pomietto, P., Desmidt, T., Samalin, L., Llorca, P., Abbar, M., et al. (2017) · European Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2017.12.015 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Belzeaux-R, R., Fiori, L. M., López, J. P., Boucékine, M., Boyer, L., Blier, P., Farzan, F., Frey, B. N., Giacobbe, P., Lam, R. W. M., et al. (2019) · The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry · doi:10.4088/jcp.18m12556 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Self-citationGene expression associated with suicide attempts in US veterans
Flory, J. D., Donohue, D. E., Muhie, S. Y., Yang, R., Miller, S., Hammamieh, R., Ryberg, K., & Yehuda, R. (2017) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/tp.2017.179 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
The Neuroscience of Suicidal Behavior
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Santos, M., Lima, L., Carvalho, S., Mota-Pereira, J., Pimentel, P., Maia, D., Correia, D., Barroso, M. F., Gomes, S., Cruz, A., et al. (2023) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms24076758 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“Regarding PTEN, this gene has been reported as a biomarker of a high versus low suicidality state [42], although a subsequent report did not corroborate the findings [43].”
ResultThe Promise of Biomarkers in Diagnosing Major Depression in Primary Care: the Present and Future
Redei, E. E., & Mehta, N. S. (2015) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-015-0601-1 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Kim, J., Kang, H., Kim, J.-W., Choi, W., Lee, J., Kim, S., Shin, I., Kim, M., Chun, B. J., & Stewart, R. J. (2022) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291722001180 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Cook, I. A., Congdon, E. L., Krantz, D. E., Hunter, A. M., Coppola, G., Hamilton, S. P., & Leuchter, A. F. (2019) · Frontiers in Genetics · doi:10.3389/fgene.2019.00870 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Rozanov, V. A., Kibitov, A. O., Gainetdinov, R. R., Меринов, А. В., & Zotov, P. B. (2019) · Суицидология · doi:10.32878/suiciderus.19-10-01(34)-3-20 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Stress, Vulnerability, and Suicide
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.003 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Local brain abnormalities in emotional disorders: Evidence from resting state fMRI studies
Jia, X., Li, M.-T., Wang, C., Antwi, C. O., Darko, A. P., Zhang, B., & Ren, J. (2024) · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Cognitive Science · doi:10.1002/wcs.1694 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Peripheral NORAD lncRNA and MARCKS mRNA expression in suicidal adolescents: a case-control study
Saygılı, G. Y., Karadağ, M., Şahın, E., & Çalışgan, B. (2025) · Molecular Biology Reports · doi:10.1007/s11033-025-10982-6 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
DNAzyme-assisted the detection of rps27l mRNA in protein nanopores
Luo, K., Wang, X., Zheng, L., Weng, T., Sun, L., Chen, X., Zhang, Y., Zhao, B., & Wang, D. (2025) · Analytica Chimica Acta · doi:10.1016/j.aca.2025.343711 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
What Is Suicidal Behavior, and Can It Be Prevented?
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.002
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.008
I Predict, Therefore I Cannot Be
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.009
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.010
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.004
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.011
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.007
I Think, Therefore I Do Not Want to Be
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.006
(2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.013
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.015
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.001
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.005
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.012
van Heeringen, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316563205.014
Consoloni, J.-L. (2017) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/7589d6ddz96baz427ezaba7z2ffe6d276403
- Authors
- Mullins, N., Hodgson, K., Tansey, K. E., Perroud, N., Maier, W., Mors, O., Rietschel, M., Hauser, J., Henigsberg, N., Souery, D., Aitchison, K., Farmer, A., McGuffin, P., Breen, G., Uher, R., & Lewis, C. M.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- Cardiff University (GB)
- University Hospital of Geneva (CH)
- University of Bonn (DE)
- Aarhus University Hospital (DK)
- Poznan University of Medical Sciences (PL)
- University of Zagreb (HR)
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- Dalhousie University (CA)
- Guy's Hospital (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Mullins, N
- ORCID
- Venue
- Translational Psychiatry
- Published
- 2014-10-28
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- e474-e474
- ISSN
- 2158-3188 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4350518
- OpenAlex
- W2061381094
- Cited by
- 30
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 3 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 1.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Translational Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Dépôt institutionnel de l'Université libre de Bruxelles (Université Libre de Bruxelles) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
- Government of Alberta
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- King's College London
- European Commission (LSHB-CT-2003–503428, 503428, 286213, LSHB-CT-2003)
- Canada Research Chairs
- Lundbeckfonden (R155-2014-1724)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Bipolar Disorder and Treatment
- Keywords
- suicidality, suicidal ideation, blood gene expression, mRNA biomarkers, SAT1, PTEN, MAP3K3, MARCKS, major depressive disorder, antidepressant treatment, biomarker validation
- MeSH terms
- Myristoylated Alanine-Rich C Kinase Substrate, Diamine N-Acetyltransferase, Acetyltransferases, Adult, Antidepressive Agents, Depressive Disorder, Major, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Genetic Markers, Humans, Male, Membrane Proteins, Middle Aged, RNA, Messenger, Gene Expression, Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins, MAP Kinase Kinase Kinase 3, PTEN Phosphohydrolase, Suicidal Ideation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
