Exploring causal correlations between inflammatory cytokines and Ménière's disease: a Mendelian randomization

Previous studies have highlighted associations between certain inflammatory cytokines and Ménière's Disease (MD), such as interleukin (IL) -13 and IL-1β. This Mendelian randomization aims to comprehensively evaluate the causal relationships between 91 inflammatory cytokines and MD.

A comprehensive two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted to determine the causal association between inflammatory cytokines and MD. Utilizing publicly accessible genetic datasets, we explored causal links between 91 inflammatory cytokines and MD risk. Comprehensive sensitivity analyses were employed to assess the robustness, heterogeneity, and presence of horizontal pleiotropy in our findings.

Our findings indicate that MD causally influences the levels of two cytokine types: IL-10 (P=0.048, OR=0.945, 95%CI =0.894~1.000) and Neurotrophin-3 (P=0.045, OR=0954, 95%CI =0.910~0.999). Furthermore, three cytokines exhibited significant causal effects on MD: CD40L receptor (P=0.008, OR=0.865, 95%CI =0.777-0.963), Delta and Notch-like epidermal growth factor-related receptor (DNER) (P=0.010, OR=1.216, 95%CI =1.048-1.412), and STAM binding protein (P=0.044, OR=0.776, 95%CI =0.606-0.993).

This study suggests that the CD40L receptor, DNER, and STAM binding protein could potentially serve as upstream determinants of MD. Furthermore, our results imply that when MD is regarded as the exposure variable in MR analysis, it may causally correlate with elevated levels of IL-10 and Neurotrophin-3. Using these cytokines for MD diagnosis or as potential therapeutic targets holds great clinical significance.