Gut Microbiota Regulate Motor Deficits and Neuroinflammation in a Model of Parkinson’s Disease

Sampson, T. R. et al. Cell 167: 1469-1480, 2016

Speaker: Yen-Chu, Chiu (邱妍筑)                                                Time: 13:00-14:00, Jun. 14, 2017

Commentator: Dr. Shun-Hua Chen (陳舜華 老師)             Place: Room 601

Abstract:

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the United States and affects about 3 million patients worldwide. Synucleinopathies are characterized by aggregation of the protein ɑ-synuclein (ɑSyn), often resulting in motor dysfunction as exemplified in PD. Although PD has been historically studied within the central nervous system (CNS), peripheral influences have been implicated in diseases that impact the brain¹. The gut microbiota can have profound impact on neurodevelopment and the CNS by regulating the expression of neurotransmitters, hormones, and neuropeptides as well as immune signaling². Based on these studies, the authors tested their hypothesis that gut bacteria regulate the hallmark motor deficits and pathophysiology of PD. The authors used ɑSyn-overexpressing (Thy1-ɑSyn) mice with germ-free (GF) or specific pathogen free (SPF) condition to test whether microbiota lead to ɑSyn aggregation, neuroinflammation, and motor deficits in the mouse model of PD. They found that these GF mice moved more freely and accumulated less ɑSyn in their brains than animals with gut microbes. When they transplanted microbes from the faeces of people with PD into the guts of the mice, the animals showed more movement dysfunction than those that received bacteria from healthy humans. In conclusion, these results suggest that gut microbiota may play a critical and functional role in the pathogenesis of synucleinopathies such as PD.

References:

1.     Dinan, T.G., and Cryan, J.F. (2015). The impact of gut microbiota on brain and behaviour: implications for psychiatry. Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care 18: 552–558.

2.     Sharon, G., Sampson, T.R., Geschwind, D.H., and Mazmanian, S.K. (2016). The central nervous system and the gut microbiome. Cell 167: 915–932.