Microbiome Perturbations and The Key to Alzheimer's Disease

On April 7^th, 2020, Dr. Sam Sisodia presented his research “Sex-specific effects of microbiome perturbations on cerebral Aβ amyloidosis and microglia phenotypes”, in which Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and its neurophysiological factors are thoroughly examined. Additional correlational studies mentioned suggest an active involvement of the microglia and neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease. As altered gut microbiota have been suggested as an indicator for cognitive impairment, the microbiome was explored in this study for its impact on the maturation and function in brain immune cells which in turn have a significant effect on the brain and AD pathogenesis. The results in this study reveal the importance of the microbiome in Aβ amyloidosis of Alzheimer’s Disease and the influence of microglial homeostasis. This study focuses on how these perturbations act in a gender specific manner, as the ABX-mediated alterations and microglial gene expression results greatly differ in the male and female mice of this experiment. Overall, this study supported that the microbiome has a notable effect on the development of Alzheimer’s Disease and the potential treatment options this discovery can propose.

What I found most interesting about this study was the physiology behind the differences in the sex-specific perturbations. More specifically, the mucus degraders and the large impact they can have on future treatments for female mice and in the future, female patients. It is thought-provoking to see experiments like so potentially providing homologous effects on the mammalian brain and nervous systems. Although the study shows that there are gender disparities to this experiment, the study provides a new feature to the indications of AD and promotes future treatment. Because of this, Dr. Sisodia’s experiment strongly correlates to an news article published on “Science Daily”, “Do ‘microglia’ hold the key to stop Alzheimer’s disease?”, which recognizes the importance of these findings and applies it to future hope for advances in cognitive medicine. 

In science news of “Do ‘microglia’ hold the key to stop Alzheimer’s disease”, on “Science Daily”, the microglia are recognized as critical components in understanding the amyloid plaques in the brain, which are described as one of the “hallmarks” of Alzheimer’s disease. The article refers to how this can affect the way treatment is assessed in the future, which can potentially modulate the microglia response according to these discoveries. As Dr. Sam Sisodia also mentioned, these microglia act as support cells, and the news article recognizes this as having a significant impact on the process of Alzheimer’s Disease. Both the news publishment and Dr. Sisodia’s research indicate that there are several risk factors such as age, sex and genetic risk that affect the microglia response. Nevertheless, both articles describe the differences that occur between female and male mice within the experiments, as the Science Daily report also mentions an experiment using both genders of mice. While Dr. Sisodia’s research data focuses on the different of ABX-mediated effects on female mice that do not seem to function as well as in male mice, the Science Daily article highlights how the microglia in female reacted earlier to amyloids in female mice. While both specify different findings, both the publishment and research indicate these results as imperative to understanding Alzheimer’s disease and ultimately applying this data to future treatment. 

“Do 'Microglia' Hold the Key to Stop Alzheimer's Disease?” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 30 Apr. 2019, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190430105740.htm.

Dodiya, et al. “Sex-Specific Effects of Microbiome Perturbations on Cerebral Aβ Amyloidosis and Microglia Phenotypes.” Journal of Experimental Medicine, The Rockefeller University Press, 1 July 2019, rupress.org/jem/article/216/7/1542/120686/Sex-specific-effects-of-microbiome-perturbations.