AUTHOR=Shucheng Huidi , Li Jiaqi , Liu Yu-ling , Chen Xinghan , Jiang Xian 

TITLE=Causal relationship between gut microbiota and pathological scars: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1405097

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2024.1405097

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Background</title><p>Pathological scars, including keloids and hypertrophic scars, represent a significant dermatological challenge, and emerging evidence suggests a potential role for the gut microbiota in this process.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>Utilizing a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) methodology, this study meticulously analyzed data from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) relevant to the gut microbiota, keloids, and hypertrophic scars. The integrity and reliability of the results were rigorously evaluated through sensitivity, heterogeneity, pleiotropy, and directionality analyses.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>By employing inverse variance weighted (IVW) method, our findings revealed a causal influence of five bacterial taxa on keloid formation: class <italic>Melainabacteria</italic>, class <italic>Negativicutes</italic>, order <italic>Selenomonadales</italic>, family <italic>XIII</italic>, and genus <italic>Coprococcus2</italic>. Seven gut microbiota have been identified as having causal relationships with hypertrophic scars: class <italic>Alphaproteobacteria</italic>, family <italic>Clostridiaceae1</italic>, family <italic>Desulfovibrionaceae</italic>, genus <italic>Eubacterium coprostanoligenes group</italic>, genus <italic>Eubacterium fissicatena group</italic>, genus <italic>Erysipelotrichaceae UCG003</italic> and genus <italic>Subdoligranulum</italic>. Additional sensitivity analyses further validated the robustness of the associations above.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>Overall, our MR analysis supports the hypothesis that gut microbiota is causally linked to pathological scar formation, providing pivotal insights for future mechanistic and clinical research in this domain.</p></sec>