NEUROIMMUNE PATTERN IN THE COMORBIDITY BETWEEN DEPRESSION AND ALCOHOL USE DISORDER

The aim of the study is to search for biomarkers of risk and prevention of the formation of alcohol dependence on the background of depression. Antibodies are evaluated for a number of neurotransmitters, the information content of which is confirmed by preliminary studies. Materials and methods. Autoantibodies to dopamine, norepinephrine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, glutamate, gamma-aminobutyric acid were determined by ELISA in 60 controls and patients with depression and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Results. The level of antibodies to all studied neurotransmitters decreases with depression, especially complicated by alcoholism. An exception is the level of antibodies to serotonin, which increases with AUD and depression combined with AUD. Conclusion. It is assumed that this type of reaction may be a biomarker of the risk of alcoholism in depression.

The distribution of neuroactive substances within the cercaria of Sanguinicola inermis

The serotoninergic and peptidergic components of the nervous system of the cercaria of Sanguinicola inermis (Digenea: Sanguinicolidae) were examined using whole-mount immunocytochemistry and a plan of the nervous system has been described. Antibodies to serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) and the neuropeptides, FMRFamide, GFNSALMFamide (S1) and SGPYSFNSGLTFamide (S2) were used in the study. Immunoreactivity (IR) was demonstrated to all but the S2 antisera and showed a similar fundamental distribution. IR was found in paired cerebral ganglia located anteriorly within the body and connected by a cerebral commissure. From the ganglia paired ventral and dorsal longitudinal nerve cords extend anteriorly into the cephalic organ and into the body. There is no apparent connection with the tail. Several transverse commissures connect the longitudinal nerve cords throughout the body and several associated cell bodies have been located. A double-stranded dorsal and ventral longitudinal nerve cord extends the length of the tail and six cell bodies are associated with these cords, uniquely demonstrating either FMRFamide and S1, or 5-HT-like IR. Only 5-HT-like IR was found to extend into the posterior tail furcae and there appears to be a lack of any peripheral tegumental innervation. Double-labelling experiments suggest that the serotoninergic and peptidergic components of the cercarial nervous system are distinct.