Preliminary evaluation of the value of small molecular nutrients in depression-specific local metabolic network in preventing and treating depression

School of Food Quality and Safety, School of Food and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, 310018, China

^* Corresponding author’s e-mail: 3581966072@qq.com

Abstract

Depression, a severe mental disease, has become increasingly prevalent worldwide, leading to many negative social impacts. The discovery of a small molecular nutrient capable of preventing and treating depression is of great importance. In this study, the results of signal pathways involved in 19 depressionrelated genes show that only four depression-related genes (HIBADH, TKT, GMPPB, B3GAT3) are directly connected to the metabolic network, while the remaining genes are connected to the non-metabolic network. Additionally, based on the information in KEGG and STRING, we have constructed a local metabolic network (LMN) for depression. Using this network, we found a small molecule nutrient, 3-hydroxyisobutyrate (3-HIB), which has potential value in preventing and treating depression. Finally, we made a preliminary evaluation of its therapeutic potential for depression. In future, we can categorize patients with varying depression symptoms based on molecular profiles and provide nutrient prevention and treatment strategies in different metabolic pathways.