Chronic-Antibiotics Induced Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis Rescues Memory Impairment and Reduces β-Amyloid Aggregation in a Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease Model

Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Jul 26;23(15):8209. doi: 10.3390/ijms23158209.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a multifactorial pathology characterized by β-amyloid (Aβ) deposits, Tau hyperphosphorylation, neuroinflammatory response, and cognitive deficit. Changes in the bacterial gut microbiota (BGM) have been reported as a possible etiological factor of AD. We assessed in offspring (F1) 3xTg, the effect of BGM dysbiosisdysbiosis in mothers (F0) at gestation and F1 from lactation up to the age of 5 months on Aβ and Tau levels in the hippocampus, as well as on spatial memory at the early symptomatic stage of AD. We found that BGM dysbiosisdysbiosis with antibiotics (Abx) treatment in F0 was vertically transferred to their F1 3xTg mice, as observed on postnatal day (PD) 30 and 150. On PD150, we observed a delay in spatial memory impairment and Aβ deposits, but not in Tau and pTau protein in the hippocampus at the early symptomatic stage of AD. These effects are correlated with relative abundance of bacteria and alpha diversity, and are specific to bacterial consortia. Our results suggest that this specific BGM could reduce neuroinflammatory responses related to cerebral amyloidosis and cognitive deficit and activate metabolic pathways associated with the biosynthesis of triggering or protective molecules for AD.

Keywords: alpha-diversity; antibiotics; bacteroidetes; beta-diversity; dysbiosis; fecal bacterial microbiota; firmicutes; high-throughput DNA sequencing; novel-object localization.

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease* / metabolism
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Dysbiosis / complications
  • Dysbiosis / drug therapy
  • Female
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
  • Inflammation / complications
  • Memory Disorders / complications
  • Memory Disorders / etiology
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • tau Proteins / metabolism

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • tau Proteins