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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Inflammation
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1440262
This article is part of the Research Topic Community Series in Inflammation in Respiratory and Neurological Diseases and the immune-interaction of the lung-brain axis: Volume II View all 6 articles

Causal Effect of COVID-19 on Optic Nerve and Visual Pathway Disorders: Genetic Evidence of Lung-Brain Axis

Provisionally accepted
Chunge Cao Chunge Cao 1*Chaoyan Yue Chaoyan Yue 2Hu Zhao Hu Zhao 1
  • 1 Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
  • 2 Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China

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

    Purpose: To investigate the potential causal association between COVID-19 exposure and optic nerve and visual pathway disorders through a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis, and to provide empirical support for the lung-brain axis. Methods: This MR analysis utilized publicly accessible summary-level data from genome-wide association studies on COVID-19 (n=158,783) and optic nerve and visual pathway diseases (n=412,181), primarily involving individuals of European descent. The random-effect inverse-variance weighted estimation was applied as the main analytical approach, complemented by MR-Egger, weighted median, and weighted mode methods. The heterogeneity and pleiotropy of the instrumental variables were assessed using Cochran’s Q test, leave-one-out sensitivity analysis, MR-Egger intercept test, MR-PRESSO, and funnel plot evaluations. Results: In the forward analysis, the inverse-variance weighted method identified a significant causal effect of COVID-19 on optic nerve and visual pathway disorders (odds ratio = 1.697, 95% confidence interval: 1.086–2.652, p = 0.020). Directionally consistent results were also observed with MR-Egger regression, weighted median, and weighted mode approaches. Conversely, the reverse analysis revealed no causal effects of optic nerve and visual pathway disorders on COVID-19 susceptibility. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that COVID-19 exposure may increase the risk of developing optic nerve and visual pathway disorders, supporting the lung-brain axis hypothesis. These results underscore the importance of vigilant monitoring of the visual system in patients recovering from COVID-19 and suggest potential avenues for future therapeutic strategies.

    Keywords: COVID-19, Optic Nerve, Visual Pathways, Mendelian randomization, Lung-brain axis

    Received: 29 May 2024; Accepted: 04 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Cao, Yue and Zhao. 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: Chunge Cao, Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 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.