Fecal microbiota transplantation as a defence against MPTPinduced Parkinson’s disease mice Farzad Ahmadi
Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients show consistent dysbiosis of the gut microbiota providing evidence supporting a gut-brain axis. However, the mechanisms by which the gut microbiome influences the pathogenesis of PD is still unknown. Further, current therapies only treat symptoms, and none stop or slow the progression of PD due to a limited understanding of PD’s major molecular markers. The paper by Sun et. Al. (2018) investigates the involvement of the gut microbiota in PD progression and the neuroprotective effects of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) within PD mice. FMT is an effective method whereby the feces of one murine is infused into the GI tract of another, essentially causing a complete intervention of the microbial. FMT from α-Syn overexpressing mice into germ-free mice induced motor dysfunction and reduced neurotransmitter release within the germ-free mice showing the ability of the microbiome to induce PD. To test the neuroprotective effects of FMT, the gut microbiota from phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) treated mice were infused into MPTPinduced PD mice. FMT reduced microbiota dysbiosis, increased serotonin and dopamine release within the striatum, decreased fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and rescued motor impairments within the PD mice. Microglia and astrocyte activation were also reduced within the substantia nigra showing a decrease in neuroinflammatory precursors. Since gut microbial dysbiosis shows consistent involvement in PD, future studies should aim at understanding the mechanism underlying this association and other neurological disorders, and targeting the microbiota as a possibly therapy for PD.
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