Causal association between JAK2 and erectile dysfunction: a Mendelian randomization study

Abstract

Background: As one of the most critical proteins in the JAK/STAT signaling pathway, Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) is involved in many biological processes and diseases. Several observational studies have reported the role of JAK2 in erectile dysfunction. However, the causal relationship between JAK2 and erectile dysfunction remains unclear. Here we investigated the causal relationship between JAK2 and erectile dysfunction. Results: Genetically predicted JAK2 was causally associated with erectile dysfunction in inverse variance weighting (OR = 1.109, 95% CI = 1.029–1.196, p = 0.007) and weighted median method (OR = 1.117, 95% CI = 1.003-1.245, p = 0.044). No heterogeneity was observed in Cochran Q-test (p = 0.855) and MR-PRESSO (p = 0.866). Pleiotropy was not observed in our study (p = 0.617). Conclusions: These findings highlighted JAK2 as a risk factor for erectile dysfunction and proved the causal relationship between JAK2 and erectile dysfunction, suggesting that targeting JAK2 signaling might be a novel and promising therapeutic candidate in the treatment of erectile dysfunction.