The accumulation of certain forms of the tau protein in the brain is linked to loss of nerve cells, inflammation, and cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease and several other neurodegenerative diseases. Apolipoprotein-E (APOE), the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, regulates brain inflammation and tau-mediated brain damage; however, the gut microbiota also regulates brain inflammation. In a mouse model of tau-mediated brain injury, Seo and colleagues show that manipulation of the gut microbiota resulted in a strong reduction of inflammation, tau pathology, and brain damage in a sex- and APOE-dependent manner.

Seo DO, O’Donnell D, Jain N, Ulrich JD, Herz J, Li Y, Lemieux M, Cheng J, Hu H, Serrano JR, Bao X, Franke E, Karlsson M, Meier M, Deng S, Desai C, Dodiya H, Lelwala-Guruge J, Handley SA, Kipnis J, Sisodia SS, Gordon JI, Holtzman DM. ApoE isoform- and microbiota-dependent progression of neurodegeneration in a mouse model of tauopathy. Science. 2023 Jan 13;379(6628):eadd1236. doi: 10.1126/science.add1236. Epub 2023 Jan 13. PMID: 36634180; PMCID: PMC9901565.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36634180/?dopt=Abstract