已发表论文

整合多组学数据揭示线粒体相关基因与慢性阻塞性肺疾病的因果联系:一项孟德尔随机化研究

 

Authors Hong E, Mao J, Ke Z, Wu Y

Received 11 July 2025

Accepted for publication 12 January 2026

Published 17 January 2026 Volume 2026:21 553092

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/COPD.S553092

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 4

Editor who approved publication: Dr Vanesa Bellou

Er Hong, Jia Mao, Zhicheng Ke, Yang Wu

Department of Respiratory, Ningbo Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Affiliated to Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315010, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Er Hong, Department of Respiratory, Ningbo Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Affiliated to Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, No. 819, Li Yuan North Road, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315010, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 0574-83885201, Email 2024n061@zcmu.edu.cn

Background: As a relatively common respiratory disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has a high incidence and mortality rate. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in COPD pathogenesis, but the causal genes and underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear.
Methods: We performed a summary data-based Mendelian Randomization (SMR) study integrating summary data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with blood-based methylation (mQTL), expression (eQTL), and protein quantitative trait loci (pQTL) to identify mitochondrial-related genes causally associated with COPD. Significant findings were validated using two-sample MR, independent lung tissue transcriptomic data (GSE76925), and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to assess transcriptional consistency and functional convergence.
Results: Our integrative SMR and colocalization analyses identified 77 mitochondrial genes linked to COPD risk, including GPX1, TUFM, COQ5, BPHL, and NAGS. A methylation-to-expression regulatory cascade was observed, with hypermethylation at GPX1 cg24011261 associated with increased gene expression and higher COPD risk—despite its role as an antioxidant enzyme. Two-sample MR confirmed robust causal effects of GPX1, BPHL, TUFM and COQ5 expression on COPD. These findings were replicated in lung tissue: GPX1, COQ5, and TUFM were significantly upregulated in COPD patients (GSE76925). WGCNA revealed that these genes reside within a highly interconnected turquoise module strongly correlated with COPD status (r = 0.43, p < 0.001) and enriched in oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial energy metabolism pathways.
Conclusion: This study provides systematic genetic and transcriptomic evidence that mitochondrial-related genes, particularly GPX1 and TUFM, exert causal effects on COPD risk through regulatory cascades and coordinated network dysregulation. The convergence of genetic, epigenetic, and co-expression evidence underscores mitochondrial dysfunction as a central mechanism in COPD pathogenesis and highlights potential targets for future therapeutic development.

Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, mitochondrial dysfunction, multi-omics, mendelian randomization, colocalization