Project description:Cognitive deficits, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), encompass not only abnormalities in the brain but also dysfunctions in the gut. However, the characterization and influence of colonic epithelial cells during AD development have remained elusive. In this study, we identified a reduced abundance of tuft cells and dysfunction of CD4+ T cell response in the colon of AD model mice (APP/PS1-21), which may result from the specific inhibition of tuft cell differentiation by Aβ. The cognitive function was found to be further impaired when tuft cells were deficient in APP/PS1-21 mice. Remarkably, activation of tuft cells using succinic acid—a specific promoter—restored cognitive function and gut homeostasis in AD mice. In addition, tuft cell deficiency in normal mice (10-month-old) is sufficient to induce gut leakage, immune imbalance, and subsequent cognitive dysfunction. Thus, tuft cell is necessary for gut homeostasis during cognitive disorders.
Project description:Background: The long-term high-fat, high-sugar diet exacerbates type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)-related cognitive impairments. The negative impact of poor dietary patterns on brain development and neurological function may be related to gut microbiota disturbance. The role of phlorizin in mitigating glucose and lipid metabolism disorders is well documented. However, the protective effect of phlorizin on diabetes-related cognitive dysfunction is unclear. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of phlorizin on high-fat and high-fructose diet (HFFD)-induced cognitive dysfunction and evaluate the crucial role of the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Results: Dietary supplementation of phlorizin for 14 weeks effectively prevented glucolipid metabolism disorder, spatial learning impairment, and memory impairment in HFFD mice. In addition, phlorizin improved the HFFD-induced decrease in synaptic plasticity, neuroinflammation, and excessive activation of microglia in the hippocampus. Transcriptomics analysis shows that the protective effect of phlorizin on cognitive impairment was associated with increased expression of neurotransmitters and synapse-related genes in the hippocampus. Phlorizin treatment alleviated colon microbiota disturbance, mainly manifested by an increase in gut microbiota diversity and the abundance of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria. The level of microbial metabolites, including SCFA, inosine 5'-monophosphate (IMP), and D (-)-beta-hydroxybutyric acid (BHB) were also significantly increased after phlorizin treatment. Moreover, integrating multiomics analysis observed tight connections between phlorizin-regulated genes, microbiota, and metabolites. Furthermore, removal of the gut microbiota via antibiotics treatment diminished the protective effect of phlorizin against HFFD-induced cognitive impairment, underscoring the critical role of the gut microbiota in mediating cognitive behavior. Importantly, supplementation with SCFA and BHB alone mimicked the regulatory effects of phlorizin on cognitive function. Conclusions: These results indicate that gut microbiota and their metabolites mediate the ameliorative effect of phlorizin on HFFD-induced cognitive impairment. Therefore, phlorizin can be used as an easy-to-implement nutritional therapy to prevent and alleviate metabolism-related neurodegenerative diseases by targeting the regulation of the microbiome-gut-brain axis.
Project description:To identify the differentially expressed genes in the brain of WT mice in comparison with 9-month-old APP/PS1 mice, we examined the microarray gene expression profile of the groups above. Neuroinflammation is well implicated in the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) now. What’ more, neuroinflammation is supposed to be one of the essential trigger to induce neurodegeneration. In this study, we examined the differentially expressed genes (including coding transcripts and lncRNA) between the wild type (WT) mouse and a AD model, the APP/PS1 mouse. We found that, among all these P2XR family genes, P2X7R is not only the most abundant expressed, but also identified as the highest upregulated gene. The elevated P2X7R expression promotes neuroinflammation through activation of NLRP3 inflammsome, and further mediate one kind of inflammatory cell death, pyroptosis. Blockade of P2X7R could not only inhibit pyroptosis, but also could mildly alleviate cognitive deficits in APP/PS1 mice. Our study provides new insight into an alternative strategy for the development of AD therapy.
Project description:We have previously demonstrated that Sirt3 gene deletion, a model for metabolic syndrome, leads to brain mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammation. We also reported that silencing of Sirt3 gene in APP/PS1 mice results in exacerbation of insulin resistance, neuroinflammation and β amyloid plaque deposition. To further understand how metabolic syndrome and amyloid pathology interact, we performed RNA-seq analysis of the brain samples from wild type, Sirt3-/- , APP/PS1 and APP/PS1/Sirt3-/- mice.
Project description:With the criterion of 2-fold cutoff, 7 miRNAs were upregulated and 7 miRNAs were downregulated in APP/PS1 hippocampal tissues compared with WT hippocampal tissues Microarray analysis of miRNAs was performed on pooled hippocampal tissues from WT (n=16) and APP/PS1 mice (n=16) at E14
Project description:Background Microglial cell iron load and inflammatory activation are significant hallmarks of late-stage Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In vitro, microglia preferentially upregulate iron importer, divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1, gene name Slc11a2) in response to inflammatory stimuli, and excess iron can augment cellular inflammation, suggesting a feed-forward loop between iron import mechanisms and inflammatory signaling. However, it is not understood whether microglial iron import mechanisms directly contribute to inflammatory signaling and chronic disease in vivo. These studies determined the effects of knocking down microglial iron import gene, Slc11a2, on AD-related cognitive decline and microglial transcriptional phenotype. Methods In vitro experiments and RT-qPCR were used to assess a role for DMT1 in amyloid-β-associated inflammation. To determine the effects of microglial Slc11a2 knockdown on AD-related phenotypes in vivo, triple-transgenic Cx3cr1Cre-ERT2;Slc11a2flfl;APP/PS1+ or – mice were generated and administered corn oil or tamoxifen to induce knockdown at 5-6 months of age. Both sexes underwent behavioral analyses to assess cognition and memory (12-15 months of age). Hippocampal CD11b+ microglia were magnetically isolated from female mice (15-17 months) and bulk RNA-sequencing analysis was conducted. Results DMT1 inhibition in vitro robustly decreased Aβ-induced inflammatory gene expression and cellular iron levels in conditions of excess iron. In vivo, Slc11a2KD APP/PS1 female, but not male, mice displayed a significant worsening of memory function in Morris water maze and a fear conditioning assay, along with significant hyperactivity compared to control WT and APP/PS1 mice. Hippocampal microglia from Slc11a2KD APP/PS1 females displayed significant increases in genes Enpp2, Ttr, and iron-export gene, Slc40a1, compared to control APP/PS1 cells. Slc11a2KD cells from APP/PS1 females also exhibited decreased expression of markers related to disease-associated microglia (DAMs), such as Apoe, Ctsb, Csf1, and Hif1α. Conclusions This work suggests a sex-specific role for microglial iron import gene Slc11a2 in propagating behavioral and cognitive phenotypes in the APP/PS1 model of AD. These data also highlight an association between loss of a DAM-like phenotype in female microglia and cognitive deficits in Slc11a2KD APP/PS1 mice. Overall, this work illuminates an iron-related pathway in microglia that may serve a protective role during disease and offers insight into mechanisms behind disease-related sex differences.