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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Intestinal Microbiome
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1404745
This article is part of the Research Topic Improve Immunity against Infection and Tumor by Regulating Gut Microbiota View all 3 articles

Revealing the Link Between Gut Microbiota and Brain Tumor Risk: A New Perspective from Mendelian Randomization

Provisionally accepted
Du Cao Du Cao 1*Jianyu Yang Jianyu Yang 1Jietao Lu Jietao Lu 2Yuhan Dong Yuhan Dong 1You-dong Wei You-dong Wei 1Michael Christian Michael Christian 1Junmeng Huang Junmeng Huang 1Haiyan Kuang Haiyan Kuang 3
  • 1 Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
  • 2 People's Hospital of Bishan District, Bishan, China
  • 3 Second People's Hospital of Banan District of Chongqing, Chongqing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Recent studies have shown that gut microbiota may be related to the occurrence of brain tumors, but direct evidence is lacking. This study used the Mendelian randomization study (MR) method to explore the potential causal link between gut microbiota and brain tumors.We analyzed the genome-wide association data between 211 gut microbiota taxa and brain tumors, using the largest existing gut microbiota Genome-Wide Association Studies metaanalysis data (n=13266) and combining it with brain tumor data in the IEU OpenGWAS database. We use inverse-variance weighted analysis, supplemented by methods such as Mendelian randomization-Egger regression, weighted median estimator, simple mode, and weighted mode, to assess causality. In addition, we also conducted the Mendelian randomization-Egger intercept test, Cochran's Q test, and Mendelian randomization Steiger directionality test to ensure the accuracy of the analysis. Quality control includes sensitivity analysis, horizontal gene pleiotropy test, heterogeneity test, and MR Steiger directionality test.Result: Our study found that specific gut microbial taxa, such as order Lactobacillales and family Clostridiaceae1, were positively correlated with the occurrence of brain tumors, while genus Defluviitaleaceae UCG011 and genus Flavonifractor were negatively correlated with the occurrence of brain tumors. The Mendelian randomization-Egger intercept test showed that our analysis was not affected by pleiotropy (P>0.05).This study reveals for the first time the potential causal relationship between gut microbiota and brain tumors, providing a new perspective for the prevention and treatment of early brain tumors. These findings may help develop new clinical intervention strategies and point the way for future research.

    Keywords: brain tumors, causal relationship, FinnGen, Gut Microbiota, Mendelian randomization

    Received: 21 Mar 2024; Accepted: 19 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Cao, Yang, Lu, Dong, Wei, Christian, Huang and Kuang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Du Cao, Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.