Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a potent inflammatory cytokine that has been causally associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) and ischemic stroke (IS), implying opportunities for disease prevention by anti-TNF therapeutics.Methods
Leveraging summary statistics of several genome-wide association studies (GWAS), we assessed the repurposing potential of TNF inhibitors for CAD and IS using drug-target Mendelian randomization (MR) design. Pharmacologic blockade of the pro-inflammatory TNF signalling mediated by TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) was instrumented by four validated variants. Causal effects of TNF/TNFR1 blockade on CAD (Ncase/control upto 122,733/424,528) and IS (Ncase/control upto 60,341/454,450) were then estimated via various MR estimators using circulating C-reactive protein (CRP; NGWAS=204,402) as downstream biomarker to reflect treatment effect. Associations of a functional variant, rs1800693, with CRP, CAD and IS were also examined.Findings
No protective effect of TNF/TNFR1 inhibition on CAD or IS was observed. For every 10% decrease of circulating CRP achieved by TNF/TNFR1 blockade, odds ratio was 0.98 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.60-1.60) for CAD and 0.77 (95% CI: 0.36-1.63) for IS. Findings remained null in all supplement analyses.Interpretation
Our findings do not support TNFR1 as a promising target for CAD or IS prevention among the general population. Future research is warranted to investigate whether the detrimental effect of circulating TNF on CAD and IS might be counteracted by modulating other relevant drug targets.Funding
No.
SUBMITTER: Kang X
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8792065 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Kang Xiaoying X Jiao Tong T Wang Haiyang H Pernow John J Wirdefeldt Karin K
EBioMedicine 20220122
<h4>Background</h4>Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a potent inflammatory cytokine that has been causally associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) and ischemic stroke (IS), implying opportunities for disease prevention by anti-TNF therapeutics.<h4>Methods</h4>Leveraging summary statistics of several genome-wide association studies (GWAS), we assessed the repurposing potential of TNF inhibitors for CAD and IS using drug-target Mendelian randomization (MR) design. Pharmacologic blockade of the ...[more]