Much ado about nothing? Off-target amplification can lead to false-positive bacterial brain microbiome detection in healthy and Parkinson's disease individuals.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Recent studies suggested the existence of (poly-)microbial infections in human brains. These have been described either as putative pathogens linked to the neuro-inflammatory changes seen in Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) or as a "brain microbiome" in the context of healthy patients' brain samples.

Methods

Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we tested the hypothesis that there is a bacterial brain microbiome. We evaluated brain samples from healthy human subjects and individuals suffering from PD (olfactory bulb and pre-frontal cortex), as well as murine brains. In line with state-of-the-art recommendations, we included several negative and positive controls in our analysis and estimated total bacterial biomass by 16S rRNA gene qPCR.

Results<

SUBMITTER: Bedarf JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8004470 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature