Exploring novel drug targets for atopic dermatitis through plasma proteome with genome

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory disease with a complex and heterogeneous clinical presentation, leading to treatment limitations. Therefore, there is an urgent demand for new therapeutic drug targets. This study utilized Summary-data-based Mendelian randomization (SMR) to identify potential drug targets for AD. Summary statistics for 2,940 human plasma proteins were obtained from the UK Biobank, while AD statistics came from the Early Genetics and Epidemiology of Life Processes consortium and the FinnGen consortium. Furthermore, subsequent colocalization analyses confirmed the causal roles of candidate proteins. Moreover, Phenome-Wide Association Studies (PheWAS), protein-protein interaction (PPI), enrichment analysis, and single cell-type expression analysis provided additional insights. Additionally, drug prediction, druggability prediction, and molecular docking informed the discovery of novel drug targets. SMR analysis showed that eight plasma proteins were causally associated with AD: PVALB and TST were associated with a reduced risk of AD, while CA14, ECM1, IL22, IL6R, IL18R1, and MMP12 were associated with an increased risk of AD. Colocalization analysis confirmed significant associations for TST, IL22, and CA14. PheWAS further revealed that candidate drug targets were mainly linked to other allergic diseases. The corresponding protein-coding genes are predominantly expressed in melanocytes, T cells, and macrophages in skin tissue. Importantly, these proteins were identified to be involved in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, Th17 cell differentiation, and the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. All of these proteins are druggable, and six of them show great potential as drug targets. In conclusion, this study identified eight plasma proteins causally associated with AD and provided new insights into the etiology and potential drug targets for AD.