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Causal relationship between gut microbiota and puerperal sepsis: a 2-sample Mendelian randomization study
Liu-Dan Liang1,2,3,4, Sheng Li2,5, Mei-Jin Huang2,3
1Department of Cardiology, The First Clinical Medical College of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Frontiers in Microbiology
|June 27, 2024
Summary
This study investigated the causal link between gut microbiota and puerperal sepsis (PS) using Mendelian randomization. Certain gut bacteria, like Lachnospiraceae, may reduce PS risk, while Ruminococcaceae might increase it.
Area of Science:
- Microbiome research
- Maternal health
- Infectious disease epidemiology
Background:
- Observational studies suggest a link between gut microbiota and puerperal sepsis (PS).
- Previous research has not established a causal relationship between gut microbiota and PS.
- Puerperal sepsis remains a significant concern in maternal healthcare.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine a potential causal association between gut microbiota composition and puerperal sepsis (PS).
- To utilize a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis for investigating causality.
- To identify specific gut microbial species that may influence PS risk.
Main Methods:
- Performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.
- Utilized publicly available genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary data for gut microbiota (n=18,340) and PS (3,940 cases, 202,267 controls).
- Employed the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method as the primary analysis, supported by sensitivity analyses (MR-Egger, MR-PRESSO, Cochran's Q, leave-one-out).
Main Results:
- Identified three gut microbial species associated with PS risk.
- Lachnospiraceae FCS020 showed a potential protective effect, reducing PS risk by approximately 19% (OR=0.81, p=0.047).
- Lachnospiraceae NK4A136 also suggested a reduced risk of PS (OR=0.80, p=0.024).
- Ruminococcaceae NK4A214 was positively associated with an increased risk of PS (OR=1.33, p=0.011).
Conclusions:
- This MR study provides novel evidence for both beneficial and detrimental causal effects of gut microbiota on puerperal sepsis risk.
- Findings suggest specific gut bacteria may play a role in the pathogenesis of PS.
- Potential implications for developing microbiota-targeted prevention and treatment strategies for PS.
