Chen F, Dong X, Yu Z, Zhang Y, Shi Y.
The brain-heart axis: Integrative analysis of the shared genetic etiology between neuropsychiatric disorders and cardiovascular disease.
J Affect Disord 2024;
355:147-156. [PMID:
38518856 DOI:
10.1016/j.jad.2024.03.098]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 03/16/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/24/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Multiple observational studies have reported substantial comorbidity between neuropsychiatric disorders and cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown.
METHODS
Using GWAS summary datasets of 8 neuropsychiatric disorders and 6 cardiovascular diseases, an integrative analysis incorporating linkage-disequilibrium-score-regression (LDSC), Mendelian randomization (MR), functional mapping and annotation (FUMA), and functional enrichment analysis, was conducted to investigate shared genetic etiology of the brain-heart axis from the whole genome level, single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) level, gene level, and biological pathway level.
RESULTS
In LDSC analysis, 18 pairwise traits between neuropsychiatric disorders and CVD were identified with significant genetic overlaps, revealing extensive genome-wide genetic correlations. In bidirectional MR analysis, 19 pairwise traits were identified with significant causal relationships. Genetic liabilities to neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and major depressive disorder, conferred extensive significant causal effects on the risk of CVD, while hypertension seemed to be a risk factor for multiple neuropsychiatric disorders, with no significant heterogeneity or pleiotropy. In FUMA analysis, 13 shared independent significant SNPs and 887 overlapping protein-coding genes were detected between neuropsychiatric disorders and CVD. With GO and KEEG functional enrichment analysis, biological pathways of the brain-heart axis were highly concentrated in neurotransmitter synaptic transmission, lipid metabolism, aldosterone synthesis and secretion, glutathione metabolism, and MAPK signaling pathway.
CONCLUSION
Extensive genetic correlations and genetic overlaps between neuropsychiatric disorders and CVD were identified in this study, which might provide some new insights into the brain-heart axis and the therapeutic targets in clinical practice.
Collapse