REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Inflammation
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1625087
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring the Role of Inflammation in DepressionView all articles
Lipid Metabolic Dysregulation-induced Neuroinflammation in the Pathophysiology of Major Depressive Disorder
Provisionally accepted
- 1Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- 2Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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Depressive disorders exhibit significant comorbidity with lipid dysregulation. Clinical observations indicate that poor lifestyle factors contribute to lipid dysregulation in depressed patients. This dysregulation disrupts gut microbiota homeostasis and endocrine balance. Mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, critical organelles for lipid metabolism, also show impaired homeostasis in depression, further contributing to lipid dysregulation. Such alterations activate peripheral and central immune-inflammatory responses, compromise blood-brain barrier integrity, and disrupt neuroimmune cytokine signaling. This process induces and aggravates neuroinflammation, thereby contributing to the onset and progression of depressive disorders. These disruptions in homeostasis further exacerbate lipid dysregulation. This review delineates the molecular mechanisms by which dysregulation of lipid metabolism exacerbates depressive disorders via neuroinflammatory pathways, offering critical insights into pathogenesis and therapeutic strategies.
Keywords: lipid dysregulation1, depression2, neuroinflammation3, adipokines4, Mitochondrial dysfunction5, endoplasmic reticulum stress6
Received: 08 May 2025; Accepted: 09 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ge, Hu, Kan, Li, XU, Zhang, Zheng, Wang and Du. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Gang Wang, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Jing Du, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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