Rajasundaram, Skanda, Rahman, Rezbieara P, Woolf, Benjamin, Zhao, Sizheng Steven 
ORCID: 0000-0002-3558-7353 and Gill, Dipender
(2022)
Morning Cortisol and Circulating Inflammatory Cytokine Levels: A Mendelian Randomisation Study.
GENES, 13 (1).
116-.
Abstract
Cortisol exerts a broad anti-inflammatory effect on the immune system. Inflammatory cytokines contribute to the molecular signalling pathways implicated in various autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. However, the mechanisms by which cortisol modulates such signalling pathways remain uncertain. Leveraging summary-level data from the CORtisol NETwork (CORNET, <i>n</i> = 25,314) and FINRISK (<i>n</i> = 8293) genome-wide association studies, we used two-sample Mendelian randomisation to investigate the causal effect of genetically proxied morning cortisol levels on 42 circulating cytokines. We found that increased genetically proxied morning cortisol levels were associated with reduced levels of IL-8 and increased levels of MIF. These results provide mechanistic insight into the immunomodulatory effects of endogenous cortisol and the therapeutic effects of exogenous corticosteroids. Clinically, our findings underline the therapeutic importance of steroids in inflammatory conditions where IL-8 and MIF play a central pathophysiological role in the onset and progression of disease.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | cytokines, inflammation, Mendelian randomisation, morning cortisol, steroid |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Life Courses and Medical Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 01 Feb 2024 09:37 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Feb 2024 09:37 |
| DOI: | 10.3390/genes13010116 |
| Open Access URL: | https://doi.org/10.3390/genes13010116 |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3178248 |
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