Genome-Wide Association Studies Data and Transcriptomics Data Link Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Infection and Parkinson's Disease

Objective: The main goal of this study is to explore the link between herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection and Parkinson's disease (PD) from the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data and find the shared molecular signature for mechanism understanding and drug repurposing from the transcriptomics data. Methods: We used summary-level GWAS data for causal inference, exploring the association between herpes keratitis (mainly caused by HSV-1) and PD, and used transcriptomics data to study the shared molecular signature for mechanism understanding and drug repurposing. Results: The causal inference analysis implied that HSV-1 infection is related to PD. The upregulated shared gene set between HSV-1 infection and PD is mainly enriched in neuroinflammation, while the downregulated shared gene set is mainly enriched in stem cell and cellular metabolism, and the drug repurposing targeted the shared molecular signature nalfurafine. Conclusion: HSV-1 infection is related to PD, and these two diseases had shared molecular signature such as neuroinflammation and stem cell, which could be targeted for drug repurposing.