Implications of gut and oral microbiota in neuroinflammatory responses in Alzheimer's disease

Life Sci. 2023 Nov 15:333:122132. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2023.122132. Epub 2023 Oct 2.

Abstract

A diverse and stable microbiota promotes a healthy state, nevertheless, an imbalance in gut or oral bacterial composition, called dysbiosis, can cause gastrointestinal disorders, systemic inflammatory states and oxidative stress, among others. Recently, gut and oral dysbiosis has been linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is considered the most common form of dementia and a public health priority due to its high prevalence and incidence. The aim of this review is to highlight the implications of gut and oral microbiota in the neuroinflammation characteristic of AD pathology and the subsequent cognitive impairment. It is a systematic review of the current literature obtained by searching the PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases. The characteristic intestinal dysbiosis in AD patients leads to increased permeability of the intestinal barrier and activates immune cells in the central nervous system due to translocation of microbiota-derived metabolites and/or bacteria into the circulation leading to increased neuroinflammation and neuronal loss, thus generating the cognitive impairment characteristic of AD. The presence in the central nervous system of Porphyromonas gingivalis can cause an increased neuroinflammation and beta-amyloid peptide accumulation.

Keywords: Alzheimer's; Dysbiosis; Gut microbiota; NLRP3; Neuroinflammation; Oral microbiota.

Publication types

  • Systematic Review
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease* / metabolism
  • Bacteria
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Dysbiosis / complications
  • Dysbiosis / metabolism
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome* / physiology
  • Humans
  • Inflammation / pathology
  • Microbiota*
  • Neuroinflammatory Diseases