Plasma angiopoietin-2 as a potential causal marker in sepsis-associated ARDS development: evidence from Mendelian randomization and mediation analysis

Purpose A causal biomarker for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) could fuel precision therapy options. Plasma angiopoietin-2 (ANG2), a vascular permeability marker, is a strong candidate on the basis of experimental and observational evidence. We used genetic causal inference methods—Mendelian randomization and mediation—to infer potential effects of plasma ANG2.