Inflammatory Protein Targets for Small Fiber Neuropathy

91 inflammatory proteins were analyzed for causal links to small fiber neuropathy using Mendelian randomization. The study integrates genetic analysis, experimental validation in a mouse model, and deep learning for drug candidate screening. Results highlight specific proteins like CCL11, IL18R1, and MCP2 as potential therapeutic targets.

Use Cases

• Analyze the Mendelian randomization results for 91 inflammatory proteins, including odds ratios and p-values, to identify genetic associations with small fiber neuropathy risk.
• Validate experimental findings from the paclitaxel-induced mouse model, such as intraepidermal nerve fiber density and expression levels of CCL11, MCP2, and IL18R1 in tissues.
• Screen small-molecule drug candidates using deep learning (TransformerCPI 2.0) and molecular docking results against nominated inflammatory targets like CCL11 and IL18R1.
• Compare discordant signals between genetic predictions (e.g., MCP2's protective OR) and acute injury responses observed in the murine model to study context-dependent regulation.

Strengths

• Integrates three distinct methodologies: genetic Mendelian randomization on 91 proteins, experimental animal model validation, and computational deep learning for drug screening.
• Provides specific statistical results, including odds ratios and confidence intervals for proteins like CCL11 (OR=1.460) and MCP2 (OR=0.842).
• Uses a defined experimental model, assessing behavioral changes and tissue-specific expression levels of key inflammatory factors.

Limitations

• The primary data is a 3.2 MB DOCX document, not a structured, machine-readable dataset like CSV, limiting direct computational analysis.
• After false discovery rate correction across 91 proteins, none of the identified associations remained statistically significant.
• The dataset scope is confined to the specific study's findings on small fiber neuropathy, limiting generalizability to other neuropathic conditions.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Guangyu Cai.

Collection Method

Two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization analysis, experimental validation in a paclitaxel-induced mouse model, and computational drug screening using TransformerCPI 2.0 and molecular docking.

Freshness

Last updated March 24, 2026.