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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Gut-Brain Axis
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1545690
This article is part of the Research Topic Exploring Gut Neuroimmunology: focus on the enteric nervous system in health and disease View all articles

Plasma Exosomal miRNA Expression and Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis Are Associated with Cognitive Impairment in Alzheimer's Disease

Provisionally accepted
Kaihao Lin Kaihao Lin 1Wenxia Lin Wenxia Lin 2Zhikai Guo Zhikai Guo 1Cuihong Chen Cuihong Chen 1Liang Chen Liang Chen 3Xianbin Cai Xianbin Cai 1*
  • 1 Department of Gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China
  • 2 Neurology Department, First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China
  • 3 Department of Computer Science, First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: The gut microbiota composition and the expression profiles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid, and blood of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) differ significantly from those with normal cognition function. The study aimed to initially explore the relationship between plasma exosomal microRNAs, gut microbiota, and cognitive impairment, providing insights into the pathogenesis and treatment of AD.Methods: The study enrolled 8 participants with AD and 8 participants with normal cognition. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was utilized to evaluate cognitive function. High-throughput sequencing was used to identify differentially expressed miRNAs in plasma exosomes, while metagenomic sequencing was employed to detect differences in the abundance of gut microbiota. Furthermore, the associations among them were analyzed.Results: Four exosomal miRNAs and 14 microbiota taxa, which exhibited differential expression and abundance respectively in comparison between AD group and normal cognition group, were identified to be significantly associated with MMSE scores. Notably, the abundance of potential probiotics, including Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Roseburia intestinalis and Roseburia inulinivorans, which was decreased in AD patients, exhibited positive correlations with specific exosomal miRNAs: Roseburia intestinalis correlated with miR-3120-3p and miR-6529-5p; Roseburia inulinivorans correlated with miR-3120-3p, miR-6529-5p and miR-124-3p; Faecalibacterium prausnitzii correlated with miR-3120-3p. Discussion: The study revealed a close association among gut microbiota, plasma exosomal miRNAs, and cognitive impairment in AD, and suggested that specific components of gut microbiota and exosomal miRNAs may serve as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for AD on the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

    Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, cognitive impairment, exosomal miRNA, Gut Microbiota, metagenomic sequencing

    Received: 15 Dec 2024; Accepted: 03 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Lin, Lin, Guo, Chen, Chen and Cai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xianbin Cai, Department of Gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.