Causal Relationships Between the Oral Microbiome and Autoimmune Diseases: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Xinyu Wu, Xinye Zhang, Yuee Liang, Xuan Chen, Yuang Guo, Wanghong Zhao · 2025

Read Causal Relationships Between the Oral Microbiome and Autoimmune Diseases: A Mendelian Randomization Study by Xinyu Wu, Xinye Zhang, Yuee Liang, Xuan Chen, Yuang Guo, Wanghong Zhao (2025) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-12845399.txt.

Description

Xinyu Wu and five co-authors ask whether mouth bacteria help cause autoimmune disease, or merely tag along. Links between the oral microbiome and diseases like lupus have been reported, but cause is hard to prove from such data. Their 2025 study uses Mendelian randomization, a method that uses gene variants as natural experiments. It tests six diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis to multiple sclerosis, against features of bacteria on the tongue and in saliva.

Built-in checks probe whether the results hold up and whether the arrow might run the other way, from disease to bacteria. Gene-based tests cannot be muddied by habits the way surveys can. The authors aim to sort which mouth microbes deserve lab follow-up as possible causes. The design covers hundreds of bacterial features.

Catalog record

CREATORXinyu Wu, Xinye Zhang, Yuee Liang, Xuan Chen, Yuang Guo, Wanghong Zhao
YEAR2025
COLLECTIONPAPERS
FORMATTXT
FILE SIZE38 KB
VERSION1.0
LICENSECC BY 4.0
RIGHTSCC BY
SOURCEEurope PMC

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC12845399

Browse the full library · About the Tower of Babel