Disturbed microbial ecology in Alzheimer’s disease: evidence from the gut microbiota and fecal metabolome

TLDR

Altered gut microbiota has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis through immune, endocrine, and metabolic pathways. The study aimed to examine how dysbiosis of the gut microbiota influences metabolic outputs relevant to Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers profiled fecal microbiota and metabolites from 21 AD patients and 44 controls using 16S rRNA sequencing and UPLC‑MS. They identified 15 altered bacterial genera, with 46.7% linked to specific metabolites, predicted pathways including steroid hormone biosynthesis, and a panel of two genera and four metabolites that distinguished AD from controls with an AUC of 0.955, indicating potential non‑invasive diagnostic markers.

Abstract

Abstract Background Gut microbiota (GMB) alteration has been reported to influence the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis through immune, endocrine, and metabolic pathways. This study aims to investigate metabolic output of the dysbiosis of GMB in AD pathogenesis. In this study, the fecal microbiota and metabolome from 21 AD participants and 44 cognitively normal control participants were measured. Untargeted GMB taxa was analyzed through 16S ribosomal RNA gene profiling based on next-generation sequencing and fecal metabolites were quantified by using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). Results Our analysis revealed that AD was characterized by 15 altered gut bacterial genera, of which 46.7% (7/15 general) was significantly associated with a series of metabolite markers. The predicted metabolic profile of altered gut microbial composition included steroid hormone biosynthesis, N-Acyl amino acid metabolism and piperidine metabolism. Moreover, a combination of 2 gut bacterial genera ( Faecalibacterium and Pseudomonas ) and 4 metabolites (N-Docosahexaenoyl GABA, 19-Oxoandrost-4-ene-3,17-dione, Trigofoenoside F and 22-Angeloylbarringtogenol C) was able to discriminate AD from NC with AUC of 0.955 in these 65 subjects. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that gut microbial alterations and related metabolic output changes may be associated with pathogenesis of AD, and suggest that fecal markers might be used as a non-invasive examination to assist screening and diagnosis of AD.