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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Immunological Tolerance and Regulation
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1459967

Exploring the Gut Microbiome and Immunological Landscape in Kidney Cancer: A Mendelian Randomization Analysis

Provisionally accepted
Shihui Lu Shihui Lu 1Qian Guo Qian Guo 2Yuhan He Yuhan He 3*Zhixian Yu Zhixian Yu 1Xianjing Zhan Xianjing Zhan 1*Hang Li Hang Li 1Yue Pan Yue Pan 1*
  • 1 First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
  • 2 First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
  • 3 YongKang First People’s Hospital Of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China

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

    Kidney cancer (KC) is a significant health burden globally, with over 400,000 new cases estimated in 2020. The prognosis of KC is influenced by various factors, including tumor spread, pathological characteristics, and molecular genetic changes. Recent studies have emphasized the involvement of gut microbiota and the immune system's contribution in the onset of KC. This extensive research endeavor sought to investigate the potential associations between diverse immune cell phenotypes, specific gut microbiota species, and their impact on the risk of developing KC, alongside the examination of circulating inflammatory proteins. Adhering to the STROBE-MR guidelines, our investigation involved a two-stage Mendelian randomization (2SMR) analysis grounded on three fundamental assumptions: relevance, independence, and exclusion restriction. The exposure data utilized in this study originated from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) specifically designed to explore immune traits, inflammatory proteins, and gut microbiota compositions.Our analysis identified 25 immune phenotypes, 4 circulating inflammatory proteins, and 12 gut microbiota features that exhibited significant causal associations with KC (P < 0.05). 10 immune phenotypes were protective against KC, while 15 were risk factors. Among the inflammatory proteins, CCL28 and IL-2 were protective, whereas FGF-23 and β-NGF were risk factors. Gut microbiota features associated with reduced KC risk included biosynthetic pathways involving amino acids and specific bacterial genera, whereas others, like Butyrivibrio crossotus and Odoribacter splanchnicus, were risk factors.Immune, inflammatory, and gut microbiota factors impact KC development.Identified factors hint at biomarkers and therapeutic targets. It is very important to understand the relationship between these factors and KC.

    Keywords: Kidney cancer, Immune System, Gut Microbiota, Mendelian randomization, Inflammatory proteins

    Received: 05 Jul 2024; Accepted: 08 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lu, Guo, He, Yu, Zhan, Li and Pan. 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:
    Yuhan He, YongKang First People’s Hospital Of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China
    Xianjing Zhan, First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
    Yue Pan, First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 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.