Biography
Prof. Renxi Wang
Prof. Renxi Wang
Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Laboratory of Brain Disorders, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Title: Mendelian randomization study updates the effect of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels on the risk of multiple sclerosis
Abstract: 
Observational studies and previous Mendelian randomization (MR) studies have shown that genetically low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels are associated with a high susceptibility to multiple sclerosis (MS). The present MR study aims to update the causal estimates for the effects of 25OHD levels on MS risk. To date, the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) for serum 25OHD (n = 401,460) and MS (14,498 MS cases and 24,091 controls) was used to assess the effect of serum 25OHD levels on MS. All participants were of European ancestry. The MR-egger_intercept test and Cochran’s Q statistic were used to determine the pleiotropy and the heterogeneity, respectively. MR-egger, weighted median, inverse variance weighted (multiplicative random effects), simple mode, and weighted mode methods were used to evaluate the causal association of serum 25OHD levels with MS. Finally, the effect of a single 25OHD SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) on MS was used to test the SNP bias. One hundred and fifteen newly identified serum 25OHD genetic variants were extracted from a large-scale serum 25OHD GWAS dataset. The 20 most effective and independent 25OHD genetic instrumental variables were extracted from the MS GWAS summary statistics. Pleiotropy analysis suggested no significant pleiotropic variant among the 20 selected 25OHD genetic instrument variants in MS GWAS datasets. As serum levels of 25OHD based on genetic changes increased, the risk of MS decreased using MR-egger (OR = 0.391, p = 0.001), weighted median (OR = 0.434, p = 0.0001), IVW (OR = 0.458, p = 0.0001), simple mode (OR = 0.227, p = 0.016;), and weighted mode (OR = 0.401, p = 0.0001). Our analysis suggested a causal association between genetically increased serum 25OHD levels and reduced MS.
Biography: 
Dr. Renxi Wang is a neuroimmunologist, professor, and lab director in Laboratory of Neuroimmunology, Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University. Dr. Wang mainly studies lymphocyte differentiation and function, and potential therapeutic targets for immune-related diseases including Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, multiple sclerosis, type I diabetes, uveitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple myeloma, sepsis, viral H7N9 infectious diseases, paraquat poisoning. Particular interest is on cytokine signaling that regulate lymphocyte development and cell-fate decisions. The ultimate goal is to develop targeted therapy for immune-related diseases. Dr. Wang has got eight grants (RMB > 10 millions) funded by National Science and Technology Major Project, National Nature and Science Fund and Beijing Natural Science Foundation. The Dr. Wang group has published more than 100 important scientific articles (Nat Med, J Infect, J Med Virol, Nat Commun, Cancer Res, Crit Care Med, Cell Mol Immunol, Mol Ther) with more than 600 impact factors and 3000 citations (h-index: 28). Dr. Wang serves as a supervisor and has instructed 2 postdoctoral fellow, 8 Ph.D. and 8 masters. Dr. Wang is an editorial board member for several scientific journals. He also serves as a reviewer for funding agencies including Chinese National Nature and Science Funds, the Beijing Natural Science Foundation, Czech Science Foundation, National Youth Ten Thousand Talents Plan, and scientific journals such as Cell Mol Immunol, J Cell Mol Med, Oncotarget, Mol Immunol.