Microbiome alterations are associated with apolipoprotein E mutation in Octodon degus and humans with Alzheimer’s disease
Guido Zampieri,
Léa Cabrol,
Claudio Urra,
Eduardo Castro-Nallar,
Guillaume Schwob,
David Cleary,
Claudio Angione,
Robert M.J. Deacon,
Michael J. Hurley,
Patricia Cogram
Affiliations
Guido Zampieri
School of Computing, Engineering and Digital Technologies, Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, Tees Valley TS1 3BX, UK
Léa Cabrol
Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago 7800003, Chile; Aix Marseille University, University Toulon, CNRS, IRD, Méditerranéen Institute of Océanographie (MIO) UM 110, Avenue de Luminy, 13009 Marseille, France; Millennium Institute Biodiversity of Antarctic and Subantarctic Ecosystems (BASE), Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago 7800003, Chile
Claudio Urra
Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago 7800003, Chile
Eduardo Castro-Nallar
Center for Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, Universidad Andres Bello, Avenida República 239, Santiago 7591538, Chile
Guillaume Schwob
Millennium Institute Biodiversity of Antarctic and Subantarctic Ecosystems (BASE), Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago 7800003, Chile
David Cleary
School of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Tremona Road, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
Claudio Angione
School of Computing, Engineering and Digital Technologies, Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, Tees Valley TS1 3BX, UK
Robert M.J. Deacon
Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago 7800003, Chile
Michael J. Hurley
Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago 7800003, Chile; Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
Patricia Cogram
Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago 7800003, Chile; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, B240 Med Sci, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Corresponding author
Summary: Gut microbiome dysbiosis is linked to many neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A major risk factor for AD is polymorphism in the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene, which affects gut microbiome composition. To explore the gut-brain axis in AD, long-lived animal models of naturally developing AD-like pathologies are needed. Octodon degus (degu) exhibit spontaneous AD-like symptoms and ApoE mutations, making them suitable for studying the interplay between AD genetic determinants and gut microbiome. We analyzed the association between APOE genotype and gut microbiome in 50 humans and 32 degu using16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Significant associations were found between the degu ApoE mutation and gut microbial changes in degu, notably a depletion of Ruminococcaceae and Akkermansiaceae and an enrichment of Prevotellaceae, mirroring patterns seen in people with AD. The altered taxa were previously suggested to be involved in AD, validating the degu as an unconventional model for studying the AD/microbiome crosstalk.
