Increased pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide in the central bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in mood disorders in men.

The mood disorders major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) are highly prevalent worldwide. Women are more vulnerable to these psychopathologies than men. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), the amygdala, and the hypothalamus are the crucial interconnected structures involved in the stress response.

Alterations in pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide in major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and comorbid depression in Alzheimer's disease in the human hypothalamus and prefrontal cortex.

Background: Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide (PACAP) is involved in the stress response and may play a key role in mood disorders, but no information is available on PACAP for the human brain in relation to mood disorders.

Methods: PACAP-peptide levels were determined in a major stress-response site, the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), of people with major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD) and of a unique cohort of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients with and without depression, all with matched controls. The expression of PACAP-(Adcyap1mRNA) and PACAP-receptors was determined in the MDD and BD patients by qPCR in presumed target sites of PACAP in stress-related disorders, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).