AUTHOR=Yan Caixia , Diao Qilin , Zhao Yuxi , Zhang Cheng , He Xiaoya , Huang Ruijie , Li Yan 

TITLE=Fusobacterium nucleatum infection-induced neurodegeneration and abnormal gut microbiota composition in Alzheimer’s disease-like rats

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience

VOLUME=16

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.884543

DOI=10.3389/fnins.2022.884543

ISSN=1662-453X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Objective</title><p>To explore whether <italic>Fusobacterium nucleatum</italic> could lead to behavioral and pathological changes in Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-like model rat and whether they could affect the gut microbiota.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>The cognitive ability and alveolar bone loss of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were tested by Morris water maze and Micro-CT, respectively. HE staining and immunohistochemistry were used to analyze the pathological changes and Aβ1–42 in brains. Western blot was applied to detect the expression of p-Tau 181 in the brain. Limulus amebocyte lysate assay and PCR were performed to determine serum LPS level and whether <italic>F. nucleatum</italic> accessed the brain, respectively. The gut microbiota was analyzed by the 16S rRNA gene sequence.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Oral infection with <italic>F. nucleatum</italic> could induce increased alveolar bone loss and learning impairment in AD-like rats. Additionally, <italic>F. nucleatum</italic> exposure increased the Aβ1–42 expression by about one-fourth (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05), p-Tau181 by about one-third (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05), and serum LPS (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) in AD-like rats. Moreover, <italic>F. nucleatum</italic> could change the gut microflora composition in AD-like rats, accompanied by a significant increase in the abundance of <italic>Streptococcus</italic> and <italic>Prevotella</italic>.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>Oral infection with <italic>F. nucleatum</italic> could contribute to abnormalities in cognitive ability and pathological change in the brain of AD-like rats, which may be related to abnormal gut microbiota composition.</p></sec>