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

ABSTRACT: The intestinal microbiota influence neurodevelopment, modulate behavior, and contribute to neurological disorders. However, a functional link between gut bacteria and neurodegenerative diseases remains unexplored. Synucleinopathies are characterized by aggregation of the protein α-synuclein (αSyn), often resulting in motor dysfunction as exemplified by Parkinson's disease (PD). Using mice that overexpress αSyn, we report herein that gut microbiota are required for motor deficits, microglia activation, and αSyn pathology. Antibiotic treatment ameliorates, while microbial re-colonization promotes, pathophysiology in adult animals, suggesting that postnatal signaling between the gut and the brain modulates disease. Indeed, oral administration of specific microbial metabolites to germ-free mic

SUBMITTER: Sampson TR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5718049 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature