Inflammation genetics of depression

Evidence indicates that inflammatory mediators play a role in the development of major depressive disorder (MDD). MDD is thought to be a multigenic disorder in that many genes are implicated in its development. Genetics has enabled researchers to identify the effects of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in specific inflammatory pathways. The link between these genes and biochemical expression of inflammatory mediators is explored. The advance in genomics is rapidly growing as technology enables us to examine large sections of the human genome in a short period of time. At the same time, laboratories across the world are creating genetic databases, mapping samples on a grand scale, and providing the opportunity to access anonymized MDD clinical and genetic data with relative ease. In the last decade, a combination of candidate gene studies, linkage studies, and genome-wide association studies have started to reveal the inheritance of MDD and the genes responsible.