HMGCR-related SNPs and cholelithiasis: statins may exert effects beyond lipid-lowering

As traditional lipid-lowering drugs, the role of statins in reducing the incidence of cholelithiasis remains controversial. The aim of this study is to utilize the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to the target of statins, HMGCR, to simulate the effect of statins and explore the causal relationship between statins and cholelithiasis.

Drug-targeted Mendelian randomization (MR) was first applied to study the causal relationship between the application of statins and the risk of cholelithiasis. Subsequently, we explored the causal relationship between other lipid-lowering drugs such as ezetimibe and PCSK9 inhibitors and the incidence of cholelithiasis. Thereafter two-sample MR analyses were conducted to examine the associations of lipids with the risk of cholelithiasis.

The Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C)-reducing SNPs near the HMGCR gene (rs10066707, rs12916, rs2006760, rs5909, and rs2303152), which mimic the effects of statins, were associated with a decreased risk of cholelithiasis (OR 0.445, 95% CI 0.339-0.585, P < 0.001). However, other lipid-lowering drugs such as ezetimibe and PCSK9 inhibitors, when reducing the same level of LDL-C, cannot reduce the incidence of cholelithiasis. Moreover, multivariable MR analyses showed that neither LDL-C nor High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C) had a significant impact on cholelithiasis risk.

These facts shows that statins are associated with a decreased risk of cholelithiasis, and this association is unlikely to be mediated by lipid-lowering effects. Further clinical trials and basic experimental validation is needed to validate their relationship and underlying mechanisms.