Identifying Potential Drug Targets for Membranous Nephropathy Through an Analysis of Mendelian Randomization

Membranous nephropathy (MN) is the most common cause of adult nephrotic syndrome. Current treatments rely heavily on immunosuppressants; however, some patients do not achieve the desired therapeutic effect. Therefore, the identification of new drug targets and the development of novel medications are of urgent importance. In this study, we collected protein quantitative trait loci (pQTLs) for 734 circulating plasma proteins (CPPs) from previous research. Using principles of Mendelian genetics, we conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using three inferential methods: the Wald ratio, inverse-variance weighted (IVW), and MR-Egger. After assessing heterogeneity, we identified 16 CPPs that were positively correlated with the occurrence of MN and 14 CPPs that were negatively correlated with MN. Enrichment analysis showed that these CPPs are primarily involved in oxidative stress and inflammation pathways, which are closely related to the development and progression of MN. Subsequently, using the Drug Signatures Database (DsigDB), we predicted potential drugs that might interact with these CPPs. Finally, we found that curcumin, a natural compound known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties, could be a potential therapeutic molecule for the treatment of MN. This study aimed to systematically screen CPPs for causal associations with MN risk using MR, characterize the biological pathways of implicated proteins, and nominate potential therapeutic agents via computational drug repurposing analysis.