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Published on: July 31, 2019
Causal relationship between gut microbiota and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: A two-sample Mendelian randomization
Shiqin Fan1, Baorui Xue2, Jing Ma1
1Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Liyuan Hospital, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Abstract:
To explore the causal relationship between gut microbiota (GM) and Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), we performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR). GM was used as an exposure factor, and instrumental variables were determined from the GWAS of 18,340 participants. GWAS of IPF (including 1028 IPF patients and 196,986 controls) from the FinnGen was used as the outcome factor. The primary analysis method is the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method, and sensitivity analysis was used to validate the reliability. Family Bacteroidaceae (OR = 1.917 95% CI = 1.083-3.393, P = .026), order Gastranaerophilales (OR = 1.441 95% CI = 1.019-2.036, P = .039), genus Senegalimassilia (OR = 2.28 95% CI = 1.174-4.427, P = .015), phylum Cyanobacteria (OR = 1.631 95% CI = 1.035-2.571, P = .035) were positively correlated with IPF. FamilyXIII(OR = 0.452 95% CI = 0.249-0.82, P = .009), order Selenomonadale (OR = 0.563 95% CI = 0.337-0.941, P = .029), genus Veillonella (OR = 0.546 95% CI = 0.304-0.982, P = .043) (OR = 0.717 95% CI = 0.527-0.976, P = .034), genus Ruminococcusgnavus (OR = 0.717 95% CI = 0.527-0.976, P = .034), genus Oscillibacter (OR = 0.571 95% CI = 0.405-0.806, P = .001) was negatively correlated with IPF. Sensitivity analysis showed no evidence of pleiotropy or heterogeneity (P > .05). The results of MR demonstrated a causal relationship between GM and IPF. Further studies are needed to investigate the intrinsic mechanisms of the GM in the pathogenesis of IPF.
Insights
This study used Mendelian randomization to investigate the causal link between gut microbiota (GM) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Certain gut bacteria are causally associated with IPF, suggesting a role for the gut microbiome in disease development.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Genetics
- Pulmonology
Background:
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive lung disease with unknown etiology.
- The gut microbiota (GM) plays a crucial role in various physiological processes, and emerging evidence suggests its involvement in lung diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential causal relationship between gut microbiota composition and the risk of developing idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis using a two-sample Mendelian randomization approach.
Main Methods:
- Utilized genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from 18,340 participants to identify genetic variants associated with gut microbiota.
- Employed GWAS data from the FinnGen study (1028 IPF patients, 196,986 controls) as the outcome for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
- Applied the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method for primary analysis and conducted sensitivity analyses to ensure robustness.
Main Results:
- Identified several gut bacteria taxa with a causal association with IPF.
- Positive correlations were observed for Family Bacteroidaceae, order Gastranaerophilales, genus Senegalimassilia, and phylum Cyanobacteria.
- Negative correlations were found for Family XIII, order Selenomonadale, genus Veillonella, genus Ruminococcusgnavus, and genus Oscillibacter.
Conclusions:
- The study provides evidence for a causal relationship between specific gut microbiota compositions and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
- These findings highlight the gut microbiome as a potential factor in IPF pathogenesis.
- Further research is warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms connecting gut bacteria and IPF development.
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