Causal effect of chloride intracellular channel protein 5 on chronic periodontitis: A Mendelian randomization study

This study aimed to evaluate the potential causal effect of chloride intracellular channel protein 5 (CLIC5) on the risk of chronic periodontitis (CP) using a Mendelian randomization (MR) approach. MR analysis was conducted utilizing publicly available summary statistics from genome-wide association studies summary statistics for CLIC5 and CP. Multiple MR methods, including inverse variance weighted, MR Egger, weighted median and weighted mode, were employed to estimate the causal effects. Sensitivity analyses, comprising leave-one-out and heterogeneity assessments were performed to evaluate the robustness of our findings. This MR analysis consistently revealed a negative association between CLIC5 and CP, with statistical significance achieved using the inverse variance weighted and weighted median methods. The concordant effect estimates obtained from all methodological approaches collectively indicated a potential protective effect of CLIC5 against CP. The sensitivity analyses further confirmed the robustness of these findings. This study provides genetic evidence suggesting a potential causal association between increased CLIC5 levels and decreased risk of CP. These findings augment the existing literature implicating chloride channel proteins in modulating the inflammatory processes pertinent to periodontal health. Further investigation is warranted to decipher the underlying biological mechanisms and to explore the potential of CLIC5 as a therapeutic target for CP.