Provocateurs of parkinsonism

A direct link between dysbiosis and Parkinson's disease has been found

Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+

Intestinal dysbiosis and constipation are very often found in people with Parkinson's disease. Now scientists have confirmed that it is possible to determine the risks and diagnose an incurable disease much earlier by the composition of the microbiota, which not only simplifies the examination, but also provides an important window of opportunity for early prevention.

Scientists have found that Parkinson's disease can occur in the enteral nervous system, which controls the motility of the gastrointestinal tract, much earlier before it spreads to the brain through vegetative fibers, writes EurekAlert.

Article by Rodrigues et al. Transcellular propagation of fibrillar α-synuclein from enteroendocrine to neuronal cells requires cell-to-cell contact and is Rab35-dependent is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

From previous studies and clinical practice, it is known about intestinal dysbiosis in patients with a non-hereditary form of Parkinson's disease. For example, scientists know that the number of Akkermansia muciniphila bacteria is excessive in such patients. In the new work, it was planned to find out whether substances secreted by Akkermansia muciniphila can trigger the aggregation of alpha-synuclein protein, a well—known sign of Parkinson's disease.

The hypothesis of scientists was confirmed: proteins secreted by bacteria provoked the accumulation of alpha-synuclein, which, as it turned out, can migrate from enteroendocrine cells to neurons.

An enteroendocrine cell with a blue-colored nucleus, an actin cytoskeleton (green) and alpha-synuclein aggregates in the cytoplasm.

"This means that dysbiosis can stimulate the growth of bacteria that promote the aggregation of alpha-synuclein, which can eventually migrate to the central nervous system and provoke the development of the disease," the authors concluded.

The discovery leads to new prevention strategies. For example, people with increased risks may be prescribed a special diet or a microbiota transplant may be performed to prevent neurodegeneration.

In another study, scientists found that early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is possible by the skin — the protein alpha-synuclein accumulates there long before the first symptoms. 

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