Role of Microbiome-Derived Polyamines in Parkinson’s Diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) are characterized by the accumulation of toxic aggregates of 𝛼-synuclein (𝛼-syn) protein which primarily affects dopamine (DA) neurons by killing them in the brain.3 Emerging studies suggest that 𝛼-syn aggregates can spread from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract via the vagus nerve to the brain where it selectively kills DA neurons. The goal of this proposal is to profile the metabolic composition of stool samples obtained from individuals with PD and normal control patients to determine whether microbiome-derived polyamines might play a role in the initiation of PD pathology.
