Open Access

REVIEW

Potential roles of functional bacterial amyloid proteins, bacterial biosurfactants and other putative gut microbiota products in the etiopathogeny of Parkinson’s Disease

EMILIA MANOLE^1,2,#, LAURA DUMITRESCU^2,3,#, CRISTINA NICULIȚE^1,3, BOGDAN OVIDIU POPESCU^1,2,3, LAURA CRISTINA CEAFALAN^1,3,*

1 Victor Babeș” National Institute of Pathology, Bucharest, 050088, Romania
2 Colentina Clinical Hospital, Bucharest, 020125, Romania
3 Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, 020021, Romania

* Address correspondence to: Laura Cristina Ceafalan,
# These authors contributed equally

BIOCELL 2021, 45(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2021.013452

Received 07 August 2020; Accepted 13 October 2020; Issue published 26 January 2021

Abstract

An increasing number of studies provide evidence for the existence of a microbiota-gut-brain axis and its potential involvement in the development of sporadic Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. The neuropathologic hallmark of Parkinson’s disease is the presence of brain intraneuronal aggregates of misfolded alpha-synuclein, known as Lewy bodies. Some gut microbiota products may trigger alpha-synuclein conformational changes in the neurons of the enteric nervous system, which can then spread to the brain in a prion-like fashion through the vagus nerve. Others may interfere with neuroinflammatory pathways and susceptibility to neurodegeneration. In this review, we assess the potential role of putative gut microbiota products in the etiopathogeny of Parkinson’s disease, with a special emphasis on functional bacterial amyloid proteins, bacterial biosurfactants, endotoxins and short-chain fatty acids. The possible roles of molecular hydrogen, a common byproduct of bacterial fermentation, are also addressed.

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