Immunological drivers and potential novel drug targets for major psychiatric, neurodevelopmental, and neurodegenerative conditions

Dardani, C., Robinson, J.W., Jones, H.J. et al. Immunological drivers and potential novel drug targets for major psychiatric, neurodevelopmental, and neurodegenerative conditions. Mol Psychiatry 30, 4487–4496 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-03032-x

• Study used Mendelian randomization and genetic colocalisation to assess causality between immune biomarkers and neuropsychiatric disease
• 736 immune-related biomarkers were analyzed across blood and brain tissue
• Evidence supported a potential causal role for 29 immune biomarkers across 7 neuropsychiatric conditions
• Findings implicate both systemic and brain-specific immune mechanisms in schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and bipolar disorder
• 20 identified biomarkers are therapeutically actionable, including ACE, TNFRSF17, SERPING1, AGER, and CD40
• Results help prioritize immune targets for future mechanistic studies and treatment development, though causality requires further validation