Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41688790›Full record

ArticleMolecular psychiatry2026

Cross-Platform and cross-species lipidomic profiling identifies promising biomarkers for adolescent major depressive disorder.

Yao Gao, Tao Dong, Ancha Baranova, Xushu Jing, Dongwei Yang, Ying Li, Wen Ma, Hongbao Cao, Penghong Liu, Gaizhi Li and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Yao Gao *Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
Tao Dong *Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
Ancha BaranovaSchool of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA.
Xushu JingDepartment of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
Dongwei YangDepartment of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
Ying LiDepartment of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
Wen MaDepartment of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
Hongbao CaoSchool of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA.
Penghong LiuDepartment of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
Gaizhi LiDepartment of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
Yu ZhangBasic Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China. zhyucnm@163.com.
Zhi-Fen LiuDepartment of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China. zhifenliu@sxmu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0782-4195

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) in adolescents is a critical public health concern, yet objective diagnostic biomarkers remain lacking. We conducted an integrative lipidomics study across human cohorts and a chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rat model. Targeted UPLC-MS/MS profiling was applied to a training cohort (95 MDD, 40 controls), and untargeted UPLC-HRMS profiling to an independent cohort (56 MDD, 37 controls). Candidate biomarkers were identified using univariate tests, partial least squares discriminant analysis, and three feature-selection methods (Boruta, LASSO, RFE), with predictive performance evaluated by cross-validation and external replication. Translational relevance was examined in CUMS rats through behavioral assays and lipidomic profiling of serum and brain tissues. Pathway enrichment and regression models explored metabolic context and clinical associations. In the training cohort, we found that 244 lipids were significantly altered, highlighting altered glycerophospholipid, glycerolipid, and sphingolipid metabolism. A 29-lipid panel achieved 90.4% cross-validation accuracy, while a reduced 7-lipid subset reached 94.8%. In the validation cohort, an 8-lipid panel achieved 71.2% accuracy, and a minimal 2-lipid set-LPA(18:2) and SPH(d16:1)-reached 72.1%. Cross-species analysis confirmed consistent downregulation of SPH(d16:1) in serum of both humans and rats, and of LPC(0:0/16:0) specifically in the rat prefrontal cortex. Regression analyses linked sex, age, and anxiety severity to lipid alterations. This cross-platform, cross-species study identifies reproducible lipid signatures of adolescent MDD, highlights SPH(d16:1) and LPC(0:0/16:0) as translational biomarkers, and implicates glycerophospholipid metabolism in MDD pathophysiology, providing a foundation for biomarker-guided diagnostics and therapeutics.

Indexed as

Major Depressive DisorderAdolescentAnimalsBiomarkersBrainCohort StudiesDisease Models, AnimalFemaleHumansLipid MetabolismLipidomicsLipidsMaleRatsStress, PsychologicalTandem Mass SpectrometryBiomarkersLipids

Identifiers

PMID41688790
PMCPMC13190254

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.