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Updated: Jan 15, 2026

Quantification of Monocyte Chemotactic Activity In Vivo and Characterization of Blood Monocyte Derived Macrophages
Published on: August 12, 2019
Causal relationships between monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 levels and neuropsychiatric disorders: Evidence from
Yuyao He1, Wenyue Hu2, Yanliang Li1
1Shenzhen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Objective:
To investigate the causal relationship between monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) levels and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs), including Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VD), depression, schizophrenia (SCZ), and anxiety disorders, using two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR).
Methods:
Summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were utilized to examine the relationship between MCP-1 levels and NPDs. MCP-1 summary data were obtained from the IEU OpenGWAS database, while GWAS summary statistics for NPDs were primarily sourced from the FinnGen consortium, with additional replication datasets from the IEU OpenGWAS and UK Biobank. The primary analytical approach was the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method, complemented by weighted median, MR-Egger regression, and both weighted and simple mode methods in bidirectional MR analyses. Heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran's Q test, and horizontal pleiotropy was evaluated using MR-Egger regression and the MR-PRESSO test. Results from multiple GWAS sources were synthesized using meta-analysis to provide robust and comprehensive estimates.
Results:
In primary MR analysis, IVW results indicated a statistically significant association between elevated MCP-1 levels and increased risk of AD (OR: 1.108; 95 % CI: 1.003-1.224; PIVW = 0.044) and SCZ (OR: 1.245, 95 % CI: 1.014-1.529, PIVW = 0.036). No evidence of horizontal pleiotropy was observed (P > 0.05), and leave-one-out sensitivity analysis supported the robustness of these findings. However, no causal associations were identified in replication MR analyses for MCP-1 with any of the NPDs (PIVW > 0.05). Meta-analysis further confirmed the significant association between MCP-1 levels and AD risk (OR: 1.096, 95 % CI: 1.017-1.182, P = 0.017), while no significant causal relationships were observed for the other NPDs.
Conclusion:
Elevated MCP-1 levels are causally associated with Alzheimer's disease risk but not with other NPDs, indicating a disease-specific role and therapeutic potential in AD.
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