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Gut microbiome, short-chain fatty acids, alpha-synuclein, neuroinflammation, and ROS/RNS: Relevance to Parkinson's disease and therapeutic implications. Redox Biol 2024 May;71:103092

Date

02/21/2024

Pubmed ID

38377788

Pubmed Central ID

PMC10891329

DOI

10.1016/j.redox.2024.103092

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85185575430 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   14 Citations

Abstract

In this review, we explore how short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by the gut microbiome affect Parkinson's disease (PD) through their modulatory interactions with alpha-synuclein, neuroinflammation, and oxidative stress mediated by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS). In particular, SCFAs-such as acetate, propionate, and butyrate-are involved in gut-brain communication and can modulate alpha-synuclein aggregation, a hallmark of PD. The gut microbiome of patients with PD has lower levels of SCFAs than healthy individuals. Probiotics may be a potential strategy to restore SCFAs and alleviate PD symptoms, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Also in this review, we discuss how alpha-synuclein, present in the guts and brains of patients with PD, may induce neuroinflammation and oxidative stress via ROS/RNS. Alpha-synuclein is considered an early biomarker for PD and may link the gut-brain axis to the disease pathogenesis. Therefore, elucidating the role of SCFAs in the gut microbiome and their impact on alpha-synuclein-induced neuroinflammation in microglia and on ROS/RNS is crucial in PD pathogenesis and treatment.

Author List

Kalyanaraman B, Cheng G, Hardy M

Authors

Gang Cheng PhD Assistant Professor in the Biophysics department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Micael Joel Hardy PhD Visiting Assistant Professor in the Biophysics department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Balaraman Kalyanaraman PhD Professor in the Biophysics department at Medical College of Wisconsin




MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Fatty Acids, Volatile
Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Humans
Oxygen
Parkinson Disease
Reactive Nitrogen Species
Reactive Oxygen Species
alpha-Synuclein