The Effect of Inflammatory Cytokines on the Risk of Hypertrophic Scar: A Mendelian Randomization Study

    July 2024 in “ Research Square (Research Square) ”
    Sihua Qi, Averil Ma, Hai Lin, Lin Peng, E. Deng
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    Studysummary In this study, researchers identified that certain inflammatory cytokines, including osteoprotegerin and leukemia inhibitory factor, are inversely associated with hypertrophic scar risk, whereas others like CDCP1, GDNF, and PD-L1 show a positive association, suggesting potential pathways for intervention in scar formation. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
    This study used Mendelian randomization to explore the causal relationship between inflammatory cytokines and hypertrophic scar (HS) formation, analyzing data from 766 patients and 207,482 controls. The results indicated that osteoprotegerin (OPG) and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) have a protective effect against HS, while CUB-domain-containing protein 1 (CDCP1), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), and programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) increase the risk of HS. These findings were consistent across various sensitivity analyses. The study suggests that these cytokines could be potential targets for HS prevention and treatment, though further validation is necessary.
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