Platelet Glycoprotein Ib α-Chain as a Putative Therapeutic Target for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Proteomic analysis reveals potential therapeutic targets for childhood asthma through Mendelian randomization

BACKGROUND

Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children and poses a significant threat to their health. This study aims to assess the relationship between various plasma proteins and childhood asthma, thereby identifying potential therapeutic targets.

METHODS

Based on publicly available genome-wide association study summary statistics, we employed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to elucidate the causal relationship between plasma proteins and asthma. Mediation analysis was then conducted to evaluate the indirect influence of plasma proteins on childhood asthma mediated through risk factors. Comprehensive analysis was also conducted to explore the association between plasma proteins and various phenotypes using the UK Biobank dataset.

RESULTS

MR analysis uncovered a causal relationship between 10 plasma proteins and childhood asthma. Elevated levels of seven proteins (TLR4, UBP25, CBR1, Rac GTPase-activating protein 1 [RGAP1], IL-21, MICB, and PDE4D) and decreased levels of three proteins (GSTO1, LIRB4 and PIGF) were associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma. Our findings further validated the connections between reported risk factors (body mass index, mood swings, hay fever or allergic rhinitis, and eczema or dermatitis) and childhood asthma. Mediation analysis revealed the influence of proteins on childhood asthma outcomes through risk factors. Furthermore, the MR analysis identified 73 plasma proteins that exhibited causal associations with at least one risk factor for childhood asthma. Among them, RGAP1 mediates a significant proportion (25.10%) of the risk of childhood asthma through eczema or dermatitis. Finally, a phenotype-wide association study based on these 10 proteins and 1403 diseases provided novel associations between these biomarkers and multiple phenotypes.

CONCLUSION

Our study comprehensively investigated the causal relationship between plasma proteins and childhood asthma, providing novel insights into potential therapeutic targets.

Examining the Relationship between Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index and Disease Severity in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), the leading childhood rheumatic condition, has a chronic course in which persistent disease activity leads to long-term consequences. In the era of biologic therapy and tailored treatment, precise disease activity assessment and aggressive intervention for high disease activity are crucial for improved outcomes. As inflammation is a fundamental aspect of JIA, evaluating it reflects disease severity. Recently, there has been growing interest in investigating cellular immune inflammation indices such as the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and systemic immune inflammation index (SII) as measures of disease severity. The aim of this retrospective study was to explore the potential of the SII in reflecting both inflammation and disease severity in children with JIA. The study comprised 74 JIA patients and 50 healthy controls. The results reveal a notable increase in median SII values corresponding to disease severity, exhibiting strong correlations with traditional inflammatory markers, including CRP and ESR (ρ = 0.714, ρ = 0.661), as well as the JADAS10 score (ρ = 0.690). Multiple regression analysis revealed the SII to be independently associated with JADAS10. Furthermore, the SII accurately distinguished patients with high disease activity from other severity groups (AUC = 0.827, sensitivity 81.5%, specificity 66%). These findings suggest that integrating the SII as an additional measure holds potential for assessing disease activity in JIA.

Mendelian randomization reveals association between retinal thickness and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease

Retinal thickness is related to Parkinson's disease (PD), but its association with the severity of PD is still unclear. We conducted a Mendelian randomized (MR) study to explore the association between retinal thickness and PD. For the two-sample MR analysis, the summary statistics obtained from genome-wide association studies on the thickness of Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and ganglion cell inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) were employed as exposure, while the summary statistics associated with PD were used as the outcome. The primary approach utilized was inverse variance weighted. To correct for multiple testing, the false discovery rate (FDR) was employed. For sensitivity analysis, an array of robust MR methods was utilized. We found genetically predicted significant association between reduced RNFL thickness and a reduced risk of constipation in PD (odds ratio [OR] = 0.854, 95% confidence interval [CI] (0.782, 0.933), P < 0.001, FDR-corrected P = 0.018). Genetically predicted reduced RNFL thickness was associated with a reduced Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale total score (β = -0.042, 95% CI (-0.079, 0.005), P = 0.025), and reduced GCIPL thickness was associated with a lower risk of constipation (OR = 0.901, 95% CI (0.821, 0.988), P = 0.027) but a higher risk of depression (OR = 1.103, 95% CI (1.016, 1.198), P = 0.020), insomnia (OR = 1.090, 95% CI (1.013, 1.172), P = 0.021), and rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) (OR = 1.198, 95% CI (1.061, 1.352), P = 0.003). In conclusion, we identify an association between retinal thickness and non-motor symptoms (constipation, depression, insomnia and RBD) in PD, highlighting the potential of retinal thickness as a biomarker for PD nonmotor symptoms.

Proteome-wide analysis reveals potential therapeutic targets for Colorectal cancer: a two-sample mendelian randomization study

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality, highlighting an unmet clinical need for more effective therapies. This study aims to evaluate the causal relationship between 4,489 plasma proteins and CRC to identify potential therapeutic targets for CRC.

METHODS

We conducted two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to examine the causal effects of plasma proteins on CRC. Mediation analysis was performed to assess the indirect effects of plasma proteins on CRC through associated risk factors. In addition, we conducted a phenome-wide association study using the UK Biobank dataset to examine associations between these plasma proteins and other phenotypes.

RESULTS

Out of 4,489 plasma proteins, MR analysis revealed causal associations with CRC for 23 proteins, including VIMP, MICB, TNFRSF11B, C5orf38 and SLC5A8. Our findings also confirm the associations between reported risk factors and CRC. Mediation analysis identified mediating effects of proteins on CRC outcomes through risk factors. Furthermore, MR analysis identified 154 plasma proteins are causally linked to at least one CRC risk factor.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study evaluated the causal relationships between plasma proteins and CRC, providing a more complete understanding of potential therapeutic targets for CRC.

Genome-Wide Mapping of Plasma IgG N-Glycan Quantitative Trait Loci Identifies a Potentially Causal Association between IgG N-Glycans and Rheumatoid Arthritis

Observational studies highlight associations of IgG N-glycosylation with rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, the causality between these conditions remains to be determined. Standard and multivariable two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses integrating a summary genome-wide association study for RA and IgG N-glycan quantitative trait loci (IgG N-glycan-QTL) data were performed to explore the potentially causal associations of IgG N-glycosylation with RA. After correcting for multiple testing (p < 2 × 10^-3), the standard MR analysis based on the inverse-variance weighted method showed a significant association of genetically instrumented IgG N-glycan (GP4) with RA (odds ratio_GP4 = 0.906, 95% confidence interval = 0.857-0.958, p = 5.246 × 10^-4). In addition, we identified seven significant associations of genetically instrumented IgG N-glycans with RA by multivariable MR analysis (p < 2 × 10^-3). Results were broadly consistent in sensitivity analyses using MR_Lasso, MR_weighted median, MR_Egger regression, and leave-one-out analysis with different instruments (all p values <0.05). There was limited evidence of pleiotropy bias (all p values > 0.05). In conclusion, our MR analysis incorporating genome-wide association studies and IgG N-glycan-QTL data revealed that IgG N-glycans were potentially causally associated with RA. Our findings shed light on the role of IgG N-glycosylation in the development of RA. Future studies are needed to validate our findings and to explore the underlying physiological mechanisms in the etiology of RA.

A longitudinal sampling study of transcriptomic and epigenetic profiles in patients with thrombocytopenia syndrome

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a novel tick-borne infectious disease caused by a new type of SFTS virus (SFTSV). Here, a longitudinal sampling study is conducted to explore the differences in transcript levels after SFTSV infection, and to characterize the transcriptomic and epigenetic profiles of hospitalized patients. The results reveal significant changes in the mRNA expression of certain genes from onset to recovery. Moreover, m⁶A-seq reveals that certain genes related with immune regulation may be regulated by m⁶A. Besides the routine tests such as platelet counts, serum ALT and AST levels testing, distinct changes in myocardial enzymes, coagulation function, and inflammation are well correlated with the clinical data and sequencing data, suggesting that clinical practitioners should monitor the above indicators to track disease progression and guide personalized treatment. In this study, the transcript changes and RNA modification may lend a fresh perspective to our understanding of the SFTSV and play a significant role in the discovery of drugs for effective treatment of this disease.

High Level of Uromodulin Increases the Risk of Hypertension: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Background: The association of uromodulin and hypertension has been observed in clinical studies, but not proven by a causal relationship. We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the causal relationship between uromodulin and blood pressure.

Methods: We selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to urinary uromodulin (uUMOD) and serum uromodulin (sUMOD) from a large Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) meta-analysis study and research in PubMed. Six datasets based on the UK Biobank and the International Consortium for Blood Pressure (ICBP) served as outcomes with a large sample of hypertension (n = 46,188), systolic blood pressure (SBP, n = 1,194,020), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP, n = 1,194,020). The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was performed in uUMOD MR analysis, while methods of IVW, MR-Egger, Weighted median, and Mendelian Randomization Pleiotropy RESidual Sum and Outlier (MR-PRESSO) were utilized on sUMOD MR analysis.

Results: MR analysis of IVM showed the odds ratio (OR) of the uUMOD to hypertension (“ukb-b-14057” and “ukb-b-14177”) is 1.04 (95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.03-1.04, P < 0.001); the effect sizes of the uUMOD to SBP are 1.10 (Standard error (SE) = 0.25, P = 8.92E-06) and 0.03 (SE = 0.01, P = 2.70E-04) in “ieu-b-38” and “ukb-b-20175”, respectively. The β coefficient of the uUMOD to DBP is 0.88 (SE = 0.19, P = 4.38E-06) in “ieu-b-39” and 0.05 (SE = 0.01, P = 2.13E-10) in “ukb-b-7992”. As for the sUMOD, the OR of hypertension (“ukb-b-14057” and “ukb-b-14177”) is 1.01 (95% CI 1.01–1.02, all P < 0.001). The β coefficient of the SBP is 0.37 (SE = 0.07, P = 1.26E-07) in “ieu-b-38” and 0.01 (SE = 0.003, P = 1.04E-04) in “ukb-b-20175”. The sUMOD is causally associated with elevated DBP (“ieu-b-39”: β = 0.313, SE = 0.050, P = 3.43E-10; “ukb-b-7992”: β = 0.018, SE = 0.003, P = 8.41E-09).

Conclusion: Our results indicated that high urinary and serum uromodulin levels are potentially detrimental in elevating blood pressure, and serve as a causal risk factor for hypertension.