Causal links between gut microbiomes, cytokines and risk of different subtypes of epilepsy: a Mendelian randomization study

• Published in: Frontiers in neuroscience 2024-05, Vol.18, p.1397430-1397430
• Main Authors: Qiu, Youjia, Song, Bingyi, Xie, Minjia, Tao, Yuchen, Yin, Ziqian, Wang, Menghan, Ma, Chao, Chen, Zhouqing, Wang, Zhong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: cytokines; FUMA; gut microbiome; mapped genes; Mendelian randomization; Neuroscience; subtype of epilepsy
• ISSN: 1662-4548; 1662-453X; 1662-453X
• DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1397430

Recent research suggests a potential link between the gut microbiome (GM) and epilepsy. We undertook a Mendelian randomization (MR) study to determine the possible causal influence of GM on epilepsy and its various subtypes, and explore whether cytokines act as mediators. We utilized Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) summary statistics to examine the causal relationships between GM, cytokines, and four epilepsy subtypes. Furthermore, we assessed whether cytokines mediate the relationship between GM and epilepsy. Significant GMs were further investigated using transcriptomic MR analysis with genes mapped from the FUMA GWAS. Sensitivity analyses and reverse MR were conducted for validation, and false discovery rate (FDR) correction was applied for multiple comparisons. We pinpointed causal relationships between 30 GMs and various epilepsy subtypes. Notably, the Family Veillonellaceae (OR:1.03, 95%CI:1.02-1.05,  = 0.0003) consistently showed a strong positive association with child absence epilepsy, and this causal association endured even after FDR correction ( -FDR