Causal Association Between Cerebrospinal Fluid Metabolites and Stroke: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability globally, influenced by genetic, environmental, and metabolic factors. Although cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) metabolites are closely linked to stroke, their causal roles remain unclear.

We integrated genome-wide association study (GWAS) data on 338 CSF metabolites with stroke outcomes. Two-sample and reverse Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were conducted to assess causal associations between metabolites and stroke, including its subtypes: ischemic stroke, cardioembolic stroke, large artery stroke, and small vessel stroke. Seven complementary MR methods, including inverse variance weighted (IVW), were applied to evaluate pleiotropy and heterogeneity, ensuring robust causal inference.

Eighteen CSF metabolites showed significant associations with overall stroke, including six risk factors (e.g., creatinine; OR = 1.390, 95% CI: 1.167-1.656) and twelve protective factors (e.g., β-citrylglutamate; OR = 0.899, 95% CI: 0.827-0.977). Subtype analyses identified 14 metabolites linked to ischemic stroke, 31 to cardioembolic stroke, 6 to large artery stroke, and 19 to small vessel stroke. Reverse MR revealed that stroke causally influenced 9 metabolites, such as increased N-acetyltaurine (OR = 1.105) and decreased succinimide (OR = 0.814). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings.

Our study provides evidence that specific CSF metabolites play causal roles in different stroke subtypes and that stroke itself can alter CSF metabolic profiles, suggesting bidirectional interactions.

This work reveals novel mechanistic insights and identifies potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for stroke diagnosis and precision medicine.