MKRN1 as a prioritized drug target for postpartum depression: evidence from druggable proteome profiling and multi-layer validation

Journal article

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a significant global health concern affecting women, yet effective and innovative therapeutic targets remain limited. Although genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic risk loci, their underlying mechanisms and translational potential remain poorly understood. Therefore, we integrated PPD GWAS data with protein quantitative trait loci from two independent datasets to identify risk genes through proteome-wide association studies (PWAS). Validation was performed using colocalization analysis and Mendelian randomization (MR). To assess the safety of genes as drug targets, phenome-wide MR (Phe-MR) was conducted using the UK Biobank disease data. Finally, we performed gene methylation analysis in PPD patients, alongside validation of expression in key brain regions including anterior cingulate gyrus (AnCg), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and nucleus accumbens, as well as in peripheral blood (whole blood and leukocytes), across depressive patients and chronic mild stress mice. Co-expression enrichment was used to identify biological pathways associated with risk genes. PWAS and colocalization analysis identified MKRN1 and CCDC92 as overlapping risk genes, with MKRN1 validated in MR. Phe-MR showed non-significant association between MKRN1 dysregulation and disease beyond depression and mood disorders, suggesting minimal off-target effects. Methylation analysis in PPD patients’ blood revealed significant hypomethylation of MKRN1, consistent with expression analysis that confirmed its upregulation in AnCg and as a biomarker in blood. Enrichment analysis indicated MKRN1 involvement in immune–inflammatory pathways. Our study identified MKRN1 as a therapeutic target for PPD, integrating multi-omics evidence from genomics, proteomics, and druggable proteome profiling, and offering a promising path for targeted treatments.

Authors: Jia, T; Yuan, C; Hu, S; Xie, L; Liu, A

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Springer Nature [academic journals on nature.com]
• Journal: Translational Psychiatry
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 1
• Article number: 75
• Publication date: 2026-02-10
• Acceptance date: 2026-01-30
• DOI: 10.1038/s41398-026-03886-x
• EISSN: 2158-3188
• ISSN: 2158-3188
• Language: English
• Keywords: Genome-wide association study; Biomarker; Mendelian randomization; Neurogranin; Druggability; Disease; Gene expression profiling