Proteome-Wide Mendelian Randomization Reveals Biomarkers for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a progressive vascular disorder that enlarges irreversibly and may ultimately rupture. Mendelian randomization (MR) provides a powerful approach to uncover biomarkers. We aimed to identify plasma proteins linked to AAA and evaluate their diagnostic potential. We performed a proteome-wide MR analysis using genetic instruments for 2,940 plasma proteins from the UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project (UKB-PPP). Summary statistics for AAA were obtained from the Finnish R9 GWAS, comprising 4,083 cases and 420,324 controls. Eleven proteins showed significant causal associations with AAA risk (FDR This study provides the first proteome-wide MR evidence linking plasma proteins to AAA, offering candidate biomarkers for diagnosis. As a hypothesis-generating work, further experimental and clinical validation is warranted.