Therapeutic targets for inflammatory bowel disease: proteome-wide Mendelian randomization and colocalization analyses

Background Identifying new drug targets for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is urgently needed. The proteome is a major source of therapeutic targets. We conducted a proteome-wide Mendelian randomization (MR) and colocalization analyses to identify possible targets for IBD.Methods Summary-level data of 4907 circulating protein levels were extracted from a large-scale protein quantitative trait loci study including 35,559 individuals. Genetic associations with IBD and its subtypes were obtained from the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics Consortium (25,024 cases and 34,915 controls), the FinnGen study (7206 cases and 253,199 controls), and the UK Biobank study (7045 cases and 449,282 controls). MR analysis was conducted to estimate the associations between protein and IBD risk. The colocalization analysis was used to examine whether the identified proteins and IBD shared casual variants.Findings Genetically predicted levels of 3, and 5 circulating proteins were associated with IBD and ulcerative colitis (UC), respectively. With high supporting evidence of colocalization, genetically predicted MST1 (macrophage stim-ulating 1) and HGFAC (hepatocyte growth factor activator) levels were inversely associated with IBD risks. The as-sociations of STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3), MST1, CXCL5 (C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 5), and ITPKA (inositol-trisphosphate 3-kinase A) with the risk of UC were supported by colocalization analysis.Interpretation The proteome-wide MR investigation identified many proteins associated with the risk of IBD. MST1, HGFAC, STAT3, ITPKA, and CXCL5 deserve further investigation as potential therapeutic targets for IBD. 2023;89: Published https://doi.org/10. 1016/j.ebiom.2023. 104494

Automated summary

A proteome-wide investigation using Mendelian randomization and colocalization analysis identified several proteins associated with the risk of inflammatory bowel disease. MST1, HGFAC, STAT3, ITPKA, and CXCL5 may serve as potential therapeutic targets for the disease.