Brain-gut-microbiota axis in Parkinson's disease

Oct 13, 2015World journal of gastroenterology

How the gut and its microbes relate to Parkinson's disease

AI simplified

Gut-Brain Axis on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

Parkinson's disease may be characterized by disturbances in the brain-gut-microbiota axis.

Dysregulation in the brain-gut-microbiota axis is linked to gastrointestinal symptoms that often appear before motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease.
Excessive stimulation of the innate immune system due to gut imbalances may lead to systemic inflammation.
Activation of specific gut neurons and support cells could play a role in the misfolding of alpha-synuclein, a hallmark of Parkinson's disease.
The adaptive immune system may be affected by interactions between bacterial proteins and human proteins.
Improving understanding of these interactions may allow for earlier diagnosis and identification of peripheral biomarkers.

AI simplified

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by alpha-synucleinopathy that affects all levels of the brain-gut axis including the central, autonomic, and enteric nervous systems. Recently, it has been recognized that the brain-gut axis interactions are significantly modulated by the gut microbiota via immunological, neuroendocrine, and direct neural mechanisms. Dysregulation of the brain-gut-microbiota axis in PD may be associated with gastrointestinal manifestations frequently preceding motor symptoms, as well as with the pathogenesis of PD itself, supporting the hypothesis that the pathological process is spread from the gut to the brain. Excessive stimulation of the innate immune system resulting from gut dysbiosis and/or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and increased intestinal permeability may induce systemic inflammation, while activation of enteric neurons and enteric glial cells may contribute to the initiation of alpha-synuclein misfolding. Additionally, the adaptive immune system may be disturbed by bacterial proteins cross-reacting with human antigens. A better understanding of the brain-gut-microbiota axis interactions should bring a new insight in the pathophysiology of PD and permit an earlier diagnosis with a focus on peripheral biomarkers within the enteric nervous system. Novel therapeutic options aimed at modifying the gut microbiota composition and enhancing the intestinal epithelial barrier integrity in PD patients could influence the initial step of the following cascade of neurodegeneration in PD.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View full text ↗

Brain-gut-microbiota axis in Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the gut-brain axis brief

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the gut-brain axis brief