Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Purpose Observational studies suggest a link between gut microbiota and thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA), a blood vessel disease. However, whether this relationship reflects underlying genetic mechanisms remains unclear. Methods GWAS data for TAA, aortic diameter and gut microbiota were obtained from public genome-wide association studies. Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed using methods including MR-Egger, weighted median, weighted mode, and Inverse variance weighted (IVW), with IVW serving as the main analytic approach. Sensitivity analyses included MR-Egger, MR-PRESSO, Cochran’s Q, and leave-one-out techniques, and the false discovery rate (FDR) was applied for multiple testing correction. Finally, network visualisation of MR associations was performed using Python. Results IVW analysis suggested a nominal genetic association between 21 gut microbiota and TAA. Higher TAA risk showed nominally associations with Family Oxalobacteraceae , Genus unknown genus , and Genus Oxalobacter . Lower TAA risk was nominally linked to Family XI, Class Melainabacteria , Class Deltaproteobacteria , Genus Family XIII UCG001, and Phylum Proteobacteria . Higher ascending aortic diameter (AAD) risk showed nominally associatitons with Genus Lachnospiraceae , Genus Lachnoclostridium , Genus Eggerthella , and Genus Tyzzerella3 , while lower risk was nominally associated with Phylum Cyanobacteria , Genus Methanobrevibacter , Genus Lachnospiraceae , and Family Clostridiaceae1 . Higher descending aortic diameter (DAD) risk showed nominally associations with Order Enterobacteriales , Family Enterobacteriaceae and Genus Eubacterium rectale , while lower risk was nominally linked to Genus Eubacterium ruminantium . However, none of these associations remained significant after FDR correction ( p - FDR > 0.05). The visualised interaction network identified DAD with pro-inflammatory aggregation, AAD with a high degree of complexity and functional heterogeneity, and TAA with both risk and protective factors. Conclusion Our findings suggest a nominal genetic association between gut microbiota and TAA, indicating exploratory evidence that may inform future research on microbiome-related mechanisms in thoracic aortic aneurysms.
Source: Artery Research
Authors: Shen Zhang, Yaodong Sun, Yi Zhang, Yi Shen, Naishi Wu
Language: English
Topic: Gut microbiota and health
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,790
OpenAlex ID: W7130517790