A Mendelian randomization study investigating the causal role of inflammation on Parkinson’s disease

There is increasing evidence for inflammation as a determinant in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease, but its role in parkinsonian neurodegeneration remains elusive. It is not clear whether inflammatory cascades are causes or consequences of dopamine neuron death. In the present study, we aim to perform an in-depth statistical investigation of the causal relationship between inflammation and Parkinson’s disease using a two-sample Mendelian randomization design. Genetic instruments were selected using summary-level data from the largest genome-wide association studies to date (sample size ranging from 13 955 to 204 402 individuals) conducted on a European population for the following inflammation biomarkers: C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, interleukin 1 receptor antagonist and tumour necrosis factor α. Genetic association data on Parkinson’s disease (56 306 cases and 1 417 791 controls) and age at onset of Parkinson’s disease (28 568 cases) were obtained from the International Parkinson’s Disease Genomics Consortium. On primary analysis, causal associations were estimated on sets of strong (P-value < 5 × 10(−8); F-statistic > 10) and independent (linkage disequilibrium r(2) < 0.001) genetic instruments using the inverse-variance weighted method. In sensitivity analysis, we estimated causal effects using robust Mendelian randomization methods and after removing pleiotropic genetic variants. Reverse causation was also explored. We repeated the analysis on different data sources for inflammatory biomarkers to check the consistency of the findings. In all the three data sources selected for interleukin-6, we found statistical evidence for an earlier age at onset of Parkinson’s disease associated with increased interleukin-6 concentration [years difference per 1 log-unit increase = −2.364, 95% confidence interval (CI) = −4.789–0.060; years difference per 1 log-unit increase = −2.011, 95% CI = −3.706 to −0.317; years difference per 1 log-unit increase = −1.569, 95% CI = −2.891 to −0.247]. We did not observe any statistical evidence for causal effects of C-reactive protein, interleukin 1 receptor antagonist and tumour necrosis factor α on both Parkinson’s disease and its age at onset. Results after excluding possible pleiotropic genetic variants were consistent with findings from primary analyses. When investigating reverse causation, we did not find evidence for a causal effect of Parkinson’s disease or age at onset on any biomarkers of inflammation. We found evidence for a causal association between the onset of Parkinson’s disease and interleukin-6. The findings of this study suggest that the pro-inflammatory activity of the interleukin-6 cytokine could be a determinant of prodromal Parkinson’s disease.