Division of Biology & Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States.
Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States.
Elife. 2020 Feb 11;9:e53111. doi: 10.7554/eLife.53111.
Amyloids are a class of protein with unique self-aggregation properties, and their aberrant accumulation can lead to cellular dysfunctions associated with neurodegenerative diseases. While genetic and environmental factors can influence amyloid formation, molecular triggers and/or facilitators are not well defined. Growing evidence suggests that non-identical amyloid proteins may accelerate reciprocal amyloid aggregation in a prion-like fashion. While humans encode ~30 amyloidogenic proteins, the gut microbiome also produces functional amyloids. For example, curli are cell surface amyloid proteins abundantly expressed by certain gut bacteria. In mice overexpressing the human amyloid α-synuclein (αSyn), we reveal that colonization with curli-producing promotes αSyn pathology in the gut and the brain. Curli expression is required for to exacerbate αSyn-induced behavioral deficits, including intestinal and motor impairments. Purified curli subunits accelerate αSyn aggregation in biochemical assays, while oral treatment of mice with a gut-restricted amyloid inhibitor prevents curli-mediated acceleration of pathology and behavioral abnormalities. We propose that exposure to microbial amyloids in the gastrointestinal tract can accelerate αSyn aggregation and disease in the gut and the brain.
淀粉样蛋白是一类具有独特自我聚集特性的蛋白质,其异常积累可导致与神经退行性疾病相关的细胞功能障碍。虽然遗传和环境因素会影响淀粉样蛋白的形成,但分子触发因素和/或促进因素尚不清楚。越来越多的证据表明,不同的淀粉样蛋白可能以类朊病毒的方式加速相互淀粉样蛋白的聚集。虽然人类编码了约 30 种淀粉样蛋白,但肠道微生物组也会产生功能性淀粉样蛋白。例如,卷曲是某些肠道细菌中大量表达的细胞表面淀粉样蛋白。在过度表达人类淀粉样蛋白α-突触核蛋白(αSyn)的小鼠中,我们发现卷曲产生菌的定植会促进肠道和大脑中αSyn 的病理。卷曲的表达对于 加剧αSyn 诱导的行为缺陷是必需的,包括肠道和运动功能障碍。纯化的卷曲亚基在生化测定中加速了αSyn 的聚集,而用肠道限定性淀粉样蛋白抑制剂对小鼠进行口服治疗可防止卷曲介导的病理和行为异常的加速。我们提出,胃肠道中微生物淀粉样蛋白的暴露可能会加速αSyn 在肠道和大脑中的聚集和疾病。
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