Causal effects of the gut microbiome on immune-related vasculitis: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study

Abstract

Abstract Observational data suggest a link between gut microbiota and immune-related vasculitis, but causality remains unclear. A bidirectional mendelian randomization (MR) study was conducted using public genome-wide data. The inverse-variance-weighted (IVW) method identified associations and addressed heterogeneity. Families Clostridiaceae 1 and Actinomycetaceae correlated positively with granulomatosis with polyangiitis risk, while classes Lentisphaeria and Melainabacteria, and families Lachnospiraceae and Streptococcaceae showed negative associations. Behçet's disease was positively associated with the risk of family Streptococcaceae abundance. And other several gut microbiota constituents were identified as potential risk factors for immune-related vasculitis. Furthermore, combining positive association results from the IVW analysis revealed numerous shared gut microbiota constituents associated with immune-related vasculitis. MR analysis demonstrated a causal association between the gut microbiota and immune-related vasculitis, offering valuable insights for subsequent mechanistic and clinical investigations into microbiota-mediated immune-related vasculitis.