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Updated: Jul 4, 2025
Author Spotlight: Evaluating Traditional Chinese Therapy for Ankylosing Spondylitis in Mice
Published on: October 27, 2023
Ankylosing spondylitis: acute/subacute vs. chronic iridocyclitis - a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization
Hui Li1,2, Yingying Xu3,4, Qin Guo2
1The Third Affiliated Hospital, The Third School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Background:
Observational studies found associations between ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and iridocyclitis (IC), but the causality remained unconfirmed.
Methods:
We employed two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) to investigate the bidirectional causal relationships between AS and IC. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were chosen from the FinnGen database's genome-wide association studies (GWAS) following a rigorous evaluation of the studies' quality. Sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the potential influence of pleiotropy and heterogeneity on the MR findings.
Results:
Elevated genetic risk for AS showed positive causal effects on IC and its subtypes (IC, OR = 1.094, 95% CI = 1.035-1.157, P = 0.00156; Acute/Subacute IC, OR = 1.327, 95% CI = 1.266-1.392, P = 8.73×10-32; Chronic IC, OR = 1.454, 95% CI = 1.308-1.618, P = 5.19×10-12). Significant causal association was specifically observed between Acute/Subacute IC and AS (OR = 1.944, 95% CI = 1.316-2.873, P = 8.38×10-4). Sensitivity analysis suggested that horizontal pleiotropy was unlikely to influence the causality, and the leave-one-out analysis confirmed that a single SNP did not drive the observed associations.
Conclusion:
Our findings provide new proof of a positive causal relationship between AS and IC in the European population. Notably, it is Acute/Subacute IC, rather than IC as a whole or Chronic IC, that is associated with an elevated risk of AS. These results emphasize the significance of considering AS characteristics in the diagnosis of Acute/Subacute IC.
