Early life stress and tumor necrosis factor superfamily in crack cocaine withdrawal

• Published in: Journal of psychiatric research Vol. 53; pp. 180 - 186
• Main Authors: Levandowski, Mateus Luz, Viola, Thiago Wendt, Wearick-Silva, Luis Eduardo, Wieck, Andréa, Tractenberg, Saulo Gantes, Brietzke, Elisa, Bauer, Moisés E, Teixeira, Antônio Lúcio, Grassi-Oliveira, Rodrigo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-06-2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Abstinence; Addictive behaviors; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Cell death; Child; Child abuse; Crack; Crack Cocaine; Cytokine TWEAK; Cytokines; Cytokines - blood; Early life experiences; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Flow Cytometry; Humans; Inflammation; Male; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Severity; Signal Transduction - physiology; Statistics as Topic; Statistics, Nonparametric; Stress, Psychological - etiology; Stressful events; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - blood; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - complications; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - psychology; Substance-related disorders; Surveys and Questionnaires; TNF; TRAIL; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - blood; Tumor Necrosis Factors - blood; TWEAK; Victimology; Young Adult; Child abuse; TRAIL; Substance-related disorders; TWEAK; Cytokines; Inflammation; TNF; Cytokine; Substance abuse; Victimology; Stress; Ester; Tumor necrosis factor; Early; Cocaine; Drug of abuse
• ISSN: 0022-3956; 1879-1379
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2014.02.017

Abstract Background Both early life stress (ELS) and substance abuse, especially cocaine, have robust effects on the inflammatory system. Considering the role of the tumor necrosis factor system in inflammatory signaling and its association with ELS, the aim of the study was to compare plasma levels of TNF-alpha, its soluble receptors and ligands during early abstinence of crack cocaine. Methods This study included 24 crack cocaine-dependent women with (CRACK-ELS) and 20 without (CRACK) a history of ELS. A healthy control group (HC), containing 25 participants, was included to provide reference values. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) retrospectively assessed childhood maltreatment history of patients. Plasma levels of TNF-alpha, TNF-related weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK), TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), soluble receptors TNFRI (sTNFRI) and TNFRII (sTNFRII) were assessed on the 18th day of treatment. Results The CRACK-ELS group had higher TNF-alpha and lower TWEAK levels compared to the CRACK and HC groups. sTNFRII was increased, but only in comparison with the crack cocaine group and the controls. TRAIL levels were slightly higher in the CRACK-ELS group, while no differences were found for sTNFRI levels. Also, TNF-alpha plasma level was positively predicted by abstinence severity and childhood maltreatment severity, and TWEAK was negatively predicted by childhood maltreatment severity. Conclusions This is the first study to evaluate the newly secreted tumor necrosis factor superfamily ligands, TWEAK and TRAIL, during crack cocaine abstinence, supporting the association between early life stress and peripheral pro-inflammatory levels.