Genetic Evidence Linking Lactylation-Related Gene Expression To Dementia Risk

Lactylation has been identified as a novel epigenetic modification involved in neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and tau pathology. Although its relevance has been suggested in Alzheimer's disease (AD), its causal contribution to distinct dementia subtypes remains unclear. We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study to investigate whether the genetically predicted expression of 15 lactylation-related genes is causally associated with the risk of five dementia subtypes: Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and vascular dementia (VaD). Gene expression instruments were selected from whole-blood eQTL data (n = 31,684), and outcome data were derived from large-scale GWASs. The inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method served as the primary analytical approach, with Bonferroni correction (α = 0.05/15) applied for multiple testing. After correction, six gene-dementia associations remained statistically significant. Increased expression of EP300 and PFKP was associated with higher AD risk, while SIRT1 and LDHC showed protective effects against PDD. NUP50 was associated with increased FTD risk, and STMN1 with reduced risk of DLB. No significant associations were detected for VaD. All findings were robust in sensitivity analyses and supported by brain expression evidence from GTEx. Genetic evidence was provided for a causal relationship between lactylation-related gene expression and dementia subtype risk, offering potential mechanistic insights and therapeutic targets.