Adenosine 5'monophosphate-activated protein kinase activation reduces the risks of psoriasis and its comorbidities: a mendelian randomisation study in the UK Biobank

Yi Xiao; Danrong Jing; Guowei Zhou; Zhenwei Tang; Cong Peng; Yehong Kuang; Wu Zhu; Xiang Chen; Hong Liu; Minxue Shen

doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kead462

Adenosine 5'monophosphate-activated protein kinase activation reduces the risks of psoriasis and its comorbidities: a mendelian randomisation study in the UK Biobank

Rheumatology (Oxford). 2023 Sep 6:kead462. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kead462. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yi Xiao^{1

2

3

4}, Danrong Jing¹, Guowei Zhou¹, Zhenwei Tang¹, Cong Peng^{1

2

3}, Yehong Kuang^{1

2

3}, Wu Zhu¹, Xiang Chen^{1

2

3

4}, Hong Liu^{1

2

3

4}, Minxue Shen^{1

2

3

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
² Hunan Engineering Research Center of Skin Health and Disease, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
³ Hunan Key Laboratory of Skin Cancer and Psoriasis, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
⁴ National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
⁵ Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, China.

PMID: 37672020
DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/kead462

Abstract

Objective: Whether metformin and its adenosine 5'monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation protect from psoriasis risk is unconcluded. We investigated the effect of AMPK, a pharmacological target of metformin, on the risk of psoriasis and its comorbidities and mortality among participants in the UK Biobank(UKB).

Methods: To avoid immortal-time-biases in pharmacoepidemiologic studies, Mendelian randomisation was used to infer the AMPK pathway-dependent effects. The cut-off age for distinguishing early-onset/late-onset psoriasis (EOP/LOP) was set at 60 years, based on the incident psoriasis peak in UKB. A genetic instrument comprising 44 single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with HbA1c, serving as a proxy for AMPK genetic risk score (negatively associated with AMPK activation), was employed as previously reported in the literature. Log-binomial models were used to estimate the effect size of AMPK regarding relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results: A total of 407 159 participants were analyzed, including 9,126 EOP and 3,324 LOP. The AMPK-genetic-risk-score was associated with a 12.4% increase in the risk of LOP in men (RR = 1.124, 95% CI: 1.022-1.236). This association was not significant for EOP or women. AMPK genetic risk score exhibited an elevated risk of ischemic heart disease (RR = 1.217, 95% CI 1.062-1.395) in male psoriasis patients.

Conclusions: AMPK activation may protect against LOPs and associated ischemic heart disease in men. A sex-specific, comorbidity-targeted intervention for psoriasis is needed.

Keywords: UK Biobank; activated protein kinase (AMPK); mendelian randomisation; metformin; psoriasis.