Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42082960›Full record

ArticleBMC psychiatry2026

Investigating causal associations among inflammatory proteins, blood metabolites, and Alzheimer's disease risk.

Shuai Liu, Jingjing Zhu, Hua Zhong, Dan Zhou, Quan Long, Zichen Zhang, Xiaochen Yang, Qing Wu, Chao Cheng, Jianyong Wu and 6 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Shuai Liu *Department of Interdisciplinary Oncology and Department of Genetics, LSU-LCMC Health Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Jingjing Zhu *Department of Interdisciplinary Oncology and Department of Genetics, LSU-LCMC Health Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Hua ZhongDepartment of Interdisciplinary Oncology and Department of Genetics, LSU-LCMC Health Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Dan ZhouSchool of Public Health and the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 388 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Quan LongDepartment of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Calgary, Calgary, T2N 1N4, Canada.
Zichen ZhangDepartment of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Xiaochen YangDepartment of Statistics and Data Science, University of Pennsylvania, 265 South 37th Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
Qing WuDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
Chao ChengInstitute for Clinical and Translational Research, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza BCM 451, Houston, TX, 77303, USA.
Jianyong WuCollege of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Cunz Hall 250 1841 Neil Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
Hung N LuuDr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Jing WangCollege of Nursing, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Bingxin ZhaoDepartment of Quantitative Health Sciences, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA.
Chong WuDepartment of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Youping DengDepartment of Quantitative Health Sciences, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA. dengy@hawaii.edu.
Lang WuDepartment of Interdisciplinary Oncology and Department of Genetics, LSU-LCMC Health Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA. lwu3@lsuhsc.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a prevalent degenerative neurological disorder with limited treatment options. Prior studies reported specific metabolites and inflammatory proteins to be related to AD risk. However, the intricate relationship between inflammatory proteins, blood metabolites, and AD risk in European population remains unclear. Genetic instruments for 1,091 metabolites and 736 inflammatory proteins were derived from two recent comprehensive genome-wide association studies. Univariable Mendelian Randomization was employed to assess potential causal effects of metabolites on AD risk, potential effects of inflammatory proteins on metabolites, and effects of inflammatory proteins on AD risk. Multivariable MR (MVMR) was further applied to disentangle direct effects of proteins and metabolites on AD. Twelve metabolites were identified to be associated with AD risk, and 226 inflammatory proteins demonstrated likely to be causal effects on these 12 metabolites. Further examining the associations between such inflammatory proteins and AD risk revealed 22 associations for which the effect directions from inflammatory proteins to metabolites, from metabolites to AD risk, and from inflammatory proteins to AD risk were aligned, suggesting inflammatory protein - metabolite - AD risk pathway. MVMR further highlighted four trios in which the effect directions were consistent with the UVMR results, supporting a metabolite‑mediated pattern. This large‑scale genetic analysis highlights specific metabolites as direct contributors to AD risk and suggests that certain inflammatory proteins may influence AD primarily through downstream metabolic pathways. Our findings offer potential novel therapeutic targets for AD intervention.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseBlood ProteinsInflammationGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansMendelian Randomization AnalysisRisk FactorsBlood ProteinsAlzheimer’s diseaseMendelian RandomizationMetabolitesProteins

Identifiers

PMID42082960
PMCPMC13312560

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.