Abstract
Background
Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) primarily affects female in their 4th to 6th decade
of life at which stage female's sex hormones change dramatically. Sex hormones have
a wide range of effects on the liver and immune system. However, it remains unclear
whether sex hormonal changes mediate the onset of PBC.
Aims
This study investigated the causal effect between total testosterone (TT), bioavailable
testosterone (BAT), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in female and PBC using public
GWAS summary data.
Methods
Data on TT, BAT, SHBG in female were obtained from a previous study based on the UK
Biobank. PBC GWAS summary data was obtained from a genome-wide meta-analysis. We used
several methods to make the conclusion robust. Various sensitivity analyses had been
conducted to assess the consistency of our findings.
Results
Our Mendelian randomization analysis revealed that the genetically predicted BAT in
female was positively associated with PBC and SHBG in female was negatively associated
with PBC. The results obtained from different methods are similar, which proves the
reliability of the results.
Conclusions
Our study supported a causal relationship of BAT and SHBG in female on PBC. To confirm
the association between testosterone and PBC, more research should be conducted.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 13, 2023
Accepted:
February 26,
2023
Received:
December 7,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2023 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
