Identifying prioritization of therapeutic targets for ankylosing spondylitis: a multi-omics Mendelian randomization study

Abstract Background To investigate the associations of methylation, expression, and protein quantitative trait loci (mQTL, eQTL, and pQTL) with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and find out genetically supported drug targets for AS. Methods The summary-data-based Mendelian randomization (SMR) and Bayesia...

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Main Authors: Lingyu Dai, Lan Xia, Guannan Su, Yu Gao, Qingyan Jiang, Peizeng Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2024-12-01
Series:Journal of Translational Medicine
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-024-05925-x
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author Lingyu Dai
Lan Xia
Guannan Su
Yu Gao
Qingyan Jiang
Peizeng Yang
author_facet Lingyu Dai
Lan Xia
Guannan Su
Yu Gao
Qingyan Jiang
Peizeng Yang
author_sort Lingyu Dai
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background To investigate the associations of methylation, expression, and protein quantitative trait loci (mQTL, eQTL, and pQTL) with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and find out genetically supported drug targets for AS. Methods The summary-data-based Mendelian randomization (SMR) and Bayesian co-localization analysis were used to assess the potential causality between AS and relevant genes. The GWAS data obtained from the International Genetics of Ankylosing Spondylitis Consortium (IGAS) were set as the discovery stage, and the FinnGen and UK Biobank databases were used to replicate the analysis as an external validation. We further integrated the multi-omics results to screen overlapped genes at different levels. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network and enrichment analyses were used to explore the biological effect of SMR-identified genes on AS. Drug prediction and molecular docking were used to validate the medicinal value of candidate drug targets. Results Based on the results of multi-omics evidence screening, we identified potential associations of TNFRSF1A, B3GNT2, ERAP1, and FCGR2A with AS at different regulatory levels. At the protein level, AIF1, TNXB, APOM, and B3GNT2 were found to be negatively associated with AS risk, whereas higher levels of FCGR2A, FCGR2B, IL12B, TNFRSF1A, and ERAP1 were associated with an increased risk of AS. The bioinformatics analyses showed that the SMR-identified genes were mainly involved in immune response. Molecular docking results displayed stable binding between predicted candidate drugs and these aforementioned proteins. Conclusion Our study found four AS-associated genes with multi-omics evidence and nine promising drug targets for AS, which may contribute to the understanding of the genetic mechanisms of AS and provide innovative perspectives into targeted therapy for AS.
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spelling doaj-art-78c7ade2f086431b9ef7e29883cb22352025-08-20T01:57:12ZengBMCJournal of Translational Medicine1479-58762024-12-0122111310.1186/s12967-024-05925-xIdentifying prioritization of therapeutic targets for ankylosing spondylitis: a multi-omics Mendelian randomization studyLingyu Dai0Lan Xia1Guannan Su2Yu Gao3Qingyan Jiang4Peizeng Yang5The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Branch (Municipality Division) of National Clinical Research Center for Ocular DiseasesThe First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Branch (Municipality Division) of National Clinical Research Center for Ocular DiseasesThe First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Branch (Municipality Division) of National Clinical Research Center for Ocular DiseasesThe First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Branch (Municipality Division) of National Clinical Research Center for Ocular DiseasesThe First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Branch (Municipality Division) of National Clinical Research Center for Ocular DiseasesThe First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Branch (Municipality Division) of National Clinical Research Center for Ocular DiseasesAbstract Background To investigate the associations of methylation, expression, and protein quantitative trait loci (mQTL, eQTL, and pQTL) with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and find out genetically supported drug targets for AS. Methods The summary-data-based Mendelian randomization (SMR) and Bayesian co-localization analysis were used to assess the potential causality between AS and relevant genes. The GWAS data obtained from the International Genetics of Ankylosing Spondylitis Consortium (IGAS) were set as the discovery stage, and the FinnGen and UK Biobank databases were used to replicate the analysis as an external validation. We further integrated the multi-omics results to screen overlapped genes at different levels. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network and enrichment analyses were used to explore the biological effect of SMR-identified genes on AS. Drug prediction and molecular docking were used to validate the medicinal value of candidate drug targets. Results Based on the results of multi-omics evidence screening, we identified potential associations of TNFRSF1A, B3GNT2, ERAP1, and FCGR2A with AS at different regulatory levels. At the protein level, AIF1, TNXB, APOM, and B3GNT2 were found to be negatively associated with AS risk, whereas higher levels of FCGR2A, FCGR2B, IL12B, TNFRSF1A, and ERAP1 were associated with an increased risk of AS. The bioinformatics analyses showed that the SMR-identified genes were mainly involved in immune response. Molecular docking results displayed stable binding between predicted candidate drugs and these aforementioned proteins. Conclusion Our study found four AS-associated genes with multi-omics evidence and nine promising drug targets for AS, which may contribute to the understanding of the genetic mechanisms of AS and provide innovative perspectives into targeted therapy for AS.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-024-05925-xAnkylosing spondylitisMendelian randomizationMulti-omicsMethylationGene expressionProtein
spellingShingle Lingyu Dai
Lan Xia
Guannan Su
Yu Gao
Qingyan Jiang
Peizeng Yang
Identifying prioritization of therapeutic targets for ankylosing spondylitis: a multi-omics Mendelian randomization study
Journal of Translational Medicine
Ankylosing spondylitis
Mendelian randomization
Multi-omics
Methylation
Gene expression
Protein
title Identifying prioritization of therapeutic targets for ankylosing spondylitis: a multi-omics Mendelian randomization study
title_full Identifying prioritization of therapeutic targets for ankylosing spondylitis: a multi-omics Mendelian randomization study
title_fullStr Identifying prioritization of therapeutic targets for ankylosing spondylitis: a multi-omics Mendelian randomization study
title_full_unstemmed Identifying prioritization of therapeutic targets for ankylosing spondylitis: a multi-omics Mendelian randomization study
title_short Identifying prioritization of therapeutic targets for ankylosing spondylitis: a multi-omics Mendelian randomization study
title_sort identifying prioritization of therapeutic targets for ankylosing spondylitis a multi omics mendelian randomization study
topic Ankylosing spondylitis
Mendelian randomization
Multi-omics
Methylation
Gene expression
Protein
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-024-05925-x
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