Mendelian randomization study on the causal effect of serum IgA levels on H7N9 avian influenza A virus susceptibility

Abstract Avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) that cross the species barrier to infect humans have the potential to initiate a new pandemic. However, the host factors influencing avian IAV infection remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a two‐sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis by integrating our in‐house genome‐wide association study (GWAS) of avian IAV H7N9 susceptibility (with 217 cases and 116 controls) with the largest GWAS of serum IgA levels to date (sample size 41 263). Using the inverse‐variance weighted (IVW) method, we discovered that genetically decreased serum IgA levels were associated with an increased risk of H7N9 infection ( β = −2.528, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −4.572 to −0.484; p = 0.015). Consistent results were obtained from three other MR methods, including robust IVW estimation ( β = −2.506, 95% CI: −4.109 to −0.902; p = 0.002), generalized summary‐data‐based MR (GSMR) ( β = −2.238, 95% CI: −4.106 to −0.602; p = 0.019), and MR‐pleiotropy residual sum and outlier (MR‐PRESSO) ( β = −2.528, 95% CI: −4.396 to −0.892; p = 0.026). In conclusion, our analysis provided compelling evidence support a causal relationship between genetically predicted serum IgA levels and avian IAV H7N9 susceptibility.