Gut-brain axis in the Alzheimer's disease

Accumulating evidence implicate microbiota in our gut as playing a crucial role not only for digestion but also for immune and metabolic functions with implication for the rest of the body, including the brain. Our proposed project aims to investigate butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid produced by bacteria in our gut. This molecule has been demonstrated to affect microglial functioning and enteric nervous system metabolism, thus, anticipating a potential effect on Alzheimer's disease. Since diet greatly impacts our microbiota, a greater understanding of how microorganisms and their metabolites affect diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, could help design future therapies based on diets and supplementation. Our proposed experiments will yield vast proteomic and transcriptomic data about the metabolic profiles of microglia under altered nutrition profiles and will provide a greater understanding of the enteric nervous system functioning during Alzheimer's disease.