A mechanistic framework linking the oral microbiome to Alzheimer's disease through neuroinflammation - PubMed
5 hours ago
- #inflammation
- #microbiome
- #neurodegenerative disease
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by neuroinflammation and accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau.
- Oral microbiome, including bacteria like Porphyromonas gingivalis and fungi such as Candida albicans, has been found in postmortem AD brains.
- Animal studies show oral microbes can cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), correlating with activated microglia, neuroinflammation, and Aβ load.
- A mechanistic framework proposes that oral dysbiosis leads to pathogens disseminating into the bloodstream, triggering inflammation and microglia activation.
- One pathway involves direct immune response in the brain to oral pathogens crossing the BBB, causing neuroinflammation and AD pathology.
- Another pathway suggests early-life systemic inflammation primes microglia into a hyperactive state, leading exaggerated immune responses later.
- This framework aims to explain causality of AD and opens new directions for future research linking the oral microbiome to neuroinflammation.