Causal effects between gut microbiota and coronary heart disease: A Mendelian randomization study

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Genetics

Background:

• Gut microbiota (GM) interventions show promise for coronary heart disease (CHD) prevention and treatment.
• Existing research shows GM correlation with CHD, but lacks causal evidence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the causal relationship between gut microbiota and coronary heart disease using a bidirectional 2-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) approach.

Main Methods:

• Utilized genome-wide association study data from MiBioGen Consortium (N=18,340) and CHD data (60,801 cases, 123,504 controls).
• Employed inverse-variance weighted, MR-Egger, weighted median, and weighted mode analyses for causality assessment.
• Conducted sensitivity analyses (Cochran Q, MR-Egger intercept, MR-PRESSO, leave-one-out) to detect heterogeneity and pleiotropy.

Main Results:

• Genus Butyricicoccus and order Victivallales showed a protective effect against CHD.
• Genera Clostridium (innocuum species), Oxalobacter, and Turicibacter were associated with increased CHD risk.
• Sensitivity analyses indicated no significant pleiotropy or heterogeneity.

Conclusions:

• Established a simultaneous cause-and-effect relationship between specific gut bacteria and CHD.
• Identified novel bacterial taxa causally linked to CHD, expanding understanding of the gut-heart axis.
• These findings support the use of bacterial taxa as biomarkers for targeted CHD therapeutic interventions.