Genetic Insights Into the Role of Cathepsins in Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Evidence From Mendelian Randomization Study

Abstract Background Previous studies have confirmed the significant role of cathepsins in the development of neurodegenerative diseases. We aimed to determine whether genetically predicted 10 cathepsins may have a causal effect on Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and amy...

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Main Authors: Yanhong Jiang, Wenhui Fan, Yaxin Li, Hua Xue
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-01-01
Series:Brain and Behavior
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70207
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author Yanhong Jiang
Wenhui Fan
Yaxin Li
Hua Xue
author_facet Yanhong Jiang
Wenhui Fan
Yaxin Li
Hua Xue
author_sort Yanhong Jiang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Previous studies have confirmed the significant role of cathepsins in the development of neurodegenerative diseases. We aimed to determine whether genetically predicted 10 cathepsins may have a causal effect on Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods We conducted a two‐sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) study using publicly available data from genome‐wide association study (GWAS) to assess the causal associations between 10 cathepsins and three neurodegenerative diseases, including AD, PD, and ALS. We employed the following methods, including inverse variance weighting (IVW), MR‐Egger, and weighted median (WM). The results were further validated using sensitivity analysis. Results The forward MR analysis results indicate that elevated cathepsin H levels increase the risk of AD (p = 0.005, odds ratio [OR] = 1.040, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.011–1.069), elevated cathepsin B levels decrease the risk of PD (p < 0.001, OR = 0.890, 95% CI = 0.831–0.954), and no significant association was found between cathepsin levels and ALS. Reverse MR analysis suggests that there is no causal association between 10 cathepsins and three neurodegenerative diseases. Conclusion Our study provides new genetic insights into the role of cathepsin H in AD and cathepsin B in PD. However, our findings need to be further validated in a wider population, and future research should explore the potential mechanisms of cathepsins in these diseases in order to provide a basis for the development of new therapeutic strategies.
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spelling doaj-art-0dc0fa80c9fa4bfca55a339c6d2e39fa2025-01-29T13:36:39ZengWileyBrain and Behavior2162-32792025-01-01151n/an/a10.1002/brb3.70207Genetic Insights Into the Role of Cathepsins in Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Evidence From Mendelian Randomization StudyYanhong Jiang0Wenhui Fan1Yaxin Li2Hua Xue3Department of Neurology Sichuan Taikang Hospital Chengdu Sichuan ChinaDepartment of Neurology Sichuan Taikang Hospital Chengdu Sichuan ChinaDepartment of Neurology Sichuan Taikang Hospital Chengdu Sichuan ChinaDepartment of Neurology Sichuan Taikang Hospital Chengdu Sichuan ChinaAbstract Background Previous studies have confirmed the significant role of cathepsins in the development of neurodegenerative diseases. We aimed to determine whether genetically predicted 10 cathepsins may have a causal effect on Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods We conducted a two‐sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) study using publicly available data from genome‐wide association study (GWAS) to assess the causal associations between 10 cathepsins and three neurodegenerative diseases, including AD, PD, and ALS. We employed the following methods, including inverse variance weighting (IVW), MR‐Egger, and weighted median (WM). The results were further validated using sensitivity analysis. Results The forward MR analysis results indicate that elevated cathepsin H levels increase the risk of AD (p = 0.005, odds ratio [OR] = 1.040, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.011–1.069), elevated cathepsin B levels decrease the risk of PD (p < 0.001, OR = 0.890, 95% CI = 0.831–0.954), and no significant association was found between cathepsin levels and ALS. Reverse MR analysis suggests that there is no causal association between 10 cathepsins and three neurodegenerative diseases. Conclusion Our study provides new genetic insights into the role of cathepsin H in AD and cathepsin B in PD. However, our findings need to be further validated in a wider population, and future research should explore the potential mechanisms of cathepsins in these diseases in order to provide a basis for the development of new therapeutic strategies.https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70207Alzheimer's diseaseamyotrophic lateral sclerosiscathepsinsmendelian randomizationParkinson's disease
spellingShingle Yanhong Jiang
Wenhui Fan
Yaxin Li
Hua Xue
Genetic Insights Into the Role of Cathepsins in Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Evidence From Mendelian Randomization Study
Brain and Behavior
Alzheimer's disease
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
cathepsins
mendelian randomization
Parkinson's disease
title Genetic Insights Into the Role of Cathepsins in Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Evidence From Mendelian Randomization Study
title_full Genetic Insights Into the Role of Cathepsins in Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Evidence From Mendelian Randomization Study
title_fullStr Genetic Insights Into the Role of Cathepsins in Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Evidence From Mendelian Randomization Study
title_full_unstemmed Genetic Insights Into the Role of Cathepsins in Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Evidence From Mendelian Randomization Study
title_short Genetic Insights Into the Role of Cathepsins in Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Evidence From Mendelian Randomization Study
title_sort genetic insights into the role of cathepsins in alzheimer s disease parkinson s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis evidence from mendelian randomization study
topic Alzheimer's disease
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
cathepsins
mendelian randomization
Parkinson's disease
url https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70207
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