Parkinson's disease: Are gut microbes involved?

doi:10.1152/ajpgi.00058.2020

Review

. 2020 Nov 1;319(5):G529-G540.

doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00058.2020. Epub 2020 Sep 2.

Parkinson's disease: Are gut microbes involved?

Yogesh Bhattarai^{1

2}, Purna C Kashyap^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Enteric Neuroscience Program, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
² Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.

PMID: 32877215
PMCID: PMC8087343
DOI: 10.1152/ajpgi.00058.2020

Review

Parkinson's disease: Are gut microbes involved?

Yogesh Bhattarai et al. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2020.

. 2020 Nov 1;319(5):G529-G540.

doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00058.2020. Epub 2020 Sep 2.

Authors

Yogesh Bhattarai^{1

2}, Purna C Kashyap^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Enteric Neuroscience Program, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
² Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.

PMID: 32877215
PMCID: PMC8087343
DOI: 10.1152/ajpgi.00058.2020

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and gastrointestinal (GI) deficits. Despite its prevalence, the pathophysiology of PD is not well understood. Recent studies highlight the role of gut microbiota in neurological disorders. In this review, we summarize the potential role of gut microbiota in the pathophysiology of PD. We first describe how gut microbiota can be influenced by factors predisposing individuals to PD, such as environmental toxins, aging, and host genetics. We then highlight the effect of gut microbiota on mechanisms implicated in the pathophysiology of PD, including disrupted microbiota gut brain axis (GBA), barrier dysfunction, and immune dysfunction. It is too early to connect the dots between gut microbiota and PD to establish causation, and experiments focused on investigating interrelationship between gut microbiota and associated metabolites on GBA, barrier dysfunction, and immune activation will be crucial to fill in the gaps.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; gut brain axis; gut microbiota.

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Conflict of interest statement

P. Kashyap is a member of the Advisory Board of Novome and a consultant for Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, Pendulum Therapeutics, and IP Group, Inc. Y. Bhattarai is a scientist at Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

Figures

**Fig. 1.**
Figure highlights gut microbiota-associated mechanistic pathways that regulate gastrointestinal and motor dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease. Environmental toxins consumption alters gut microbiota composition and leads to disruption in epithelial barrier (1), alteration in immune activation (2), and disrupted microbiota-gut-brain axis communication through vagal and nonvagal pathways (3) to cause gastrointestinal and motor dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease. TLRs, Toll-like receptors; ZO-1, zona occludins 1.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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1. Abeliovich A, Schmitz Y, Fariñas I, Choi-Lundberg D, Ho WH, Castillo PE, Shinsky N, Verdugo JM, Armanini M, Ryan A, Hynes M, Phillips H, Sulzer D, Rosenthal A. Mice lacking alpha-synuclein display functional deficits in the nigrostriatal dopamine system. Neuron 25: 239–252, 2000. doi:10.1016/S0896-6273(00)80886-7. - DOI - PubMed
1. Afeseh Ngwa H, Kanthasamy A, Anantharam V, Song C, Witte T, Houk R, Kanthasamy AG. Vanadium induces dopaminergic neurotoxicity via protein kinase Cδ-dependent oxidative signaling mechanisms: relevance to etiopathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 240: 273–285, 2009. doi:10.1016/j.taap.2009.07.025. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Aho VTE, Pereira PAB, Voutilainen S, Paulin L, Pekkonen E, Auvinen P, Scheperjans F. Gut microbiota in Parkinson’s disease: temporal stability and relations to disease progression. EBioMedicine 44: 691–707, 2019. doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.05.064. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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[1] Abbott RD, Petrovitch H, White LR, Masaki KH, Tanner CM, Curb JD, Grandinetti A, Blanchette PL, Popper JS, Ross GW. Frequency of bowel movements and the future risk of Parkinson’s disease. Neurology 57: 456–462, 2001. doi:10.1212/WNL.57.3.456. - DOI - PubMed

[2] Abbott RD, Petrovitch H, White LR, Masaki KH, Tanner CM, Curb JD, Grandinetti A, Blanchette PL, Popper JS, Ross GW. Frequency of bowel movements and the future risk of Parkinson’s disease. Neurology 57: 456–462, 2001. doi:10.1212/WNL.57.3.456. - DOI - PubMed

[3] Abbott RD, Ross GW, Petrovitch H, Tanner CM, Davis DG, Masaki KH, Launer LJ, Curb JD, White LR. Bowel movement frequency in late-life and incidental Lewy bodies. Mov Disord 22: 1581–1586, 2007. doi:10.1002/mds.21560. - DOI - PubMed

[4] Abbott RD, Ross GW, Petrovitch H, Tanner CM, Davis DG, Masaki KH, Launer LJ, Curb JD, White LR. Bowel movement frequency in late-life and incidental Lewy bodies. Mov Disord 22: 1581–1586, 2007. doi:10.1002/mds.21560. - DOI - PubMed

[5] Abeliovich A, Schmitz Y, Fariñas I, Choi-Lundberg D, Ho WH, Castillo PE, Shinsky N, Verdugo JM, Armanini M, Ryan A, Hynes M, Phillips H, Sulzer D, Rosenthal A. Mice lacking alpha-synuclein display functional deficits in the nigrostriatal dopamine system. Neuron 25: 239–252, 2000. doi:10.1016/S0896-6273(00)80886-7. - DOI - PubMed

[6] Abeliovich A, Schmitz Y, Fariñas I, Choi-Lundberg D, Ho WH, Castillo PE, Shinsky N, Verdugo JM, Armanini M, Ryan A, Hynes M, Phillips H, Sulzer D, Rosenthal A. Mice lacking alpha-synuclein display functional deficits in the nigrostriatal dopamine system. Neuron 25: 239–252, 2000. doi:10.1016/S0896-6273(00)80886-7. - DOI - PubMed

[7] Afeseh Ngwa H, Kanthasamy A, Anantharam V, Song C, Witte T, Houk R, Kanthasamy AG. Vanadium induces dopaminergic neurotoxicity via protein kinase Cδ-dependent oxidative signaling mechanisms: relevance to etiopathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 240: 273–285, 2009. doi:10.1016/j.taap.2009.07.025. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[8] Afeseh Ngwa H, Kanthasamy A, Anantharam V, Song C, Witte T, Houk R, Kanthasamy AG. Vanadium induces dopaminergic neurotoxicity via protein kinase Cδ-dependent oxidative signaling mechanisms: relevance to etiopathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 240: 273–285, 2009. doi:10.1016/j.taap.2009.07.025. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[9] Aho VTE, Pereira PAB, Voutilainen S, Paulin L, Pekkonen E, Auvinen P, Scheperjans F. Gut microbiota in Parkinson’s disease: temporal stability and relations to disease progression. EBioMedicine 44: 691–707, 2019. doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.05.064. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[10] Aho VTE, Pereira PAB, Voutilainen S, Paulin L, Pekkonen E, Auvinen P, Scheperjans F. Gut microbiota in Parkinson’s disease: temporal stability and relations to disease progression. EBioMedicine 44: 691–707, 2019. doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.05.064. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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Parkinson's disease: Are gut microbes involved?

Affiliations

Parkinson's disease: Are gut microbes involved?

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Conflict of interest statement

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