Gut microbiota-derived extracellular vesicles in Parkinson's disease.
Gut microbiota-derived extracellular vesicles in Parkinson's disease.
Where did the research take place?
The study site has not been established. Author addresses may differ from where the research occurred.
Oulu, FI · Author affiliation
Research Unit of Translational Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.Location evidence
Turku, FI · Author affiliation
Department of Computing, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.Location evidence
Helsinki, FI · Author affiliation
Clinical Neurosciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.Location evidence
A plain-language reading has not been prepared for this paper yet.
Original abstract
The gut microbiota contributes to the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD), but the mechanism is not known. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), membrane-enclosed nanosized particles, contain various biomolecules, cross biological barriers, and reach sterile body compartments. We hypothesized that EVs released by the gut microbiota might influence PD pathophysiology. We isolated gut microbiota-derived EVs from the fecal samples of 20 patients with PD and 19 healthy controls. Patients with PD had higher concentrations of fecal EVs, and the mean particle size of EVs was larger. The 16S ribosomal RNA analysis of gut microbiota and microbiota-derived EVs showed taxonomic differences at both the phylum and genus levels between patients with PD and healthy controls. Proteomic analysis of EVs identified unique protein signatures in patients with PD. These findings suggest that gut microbiota-derived EVs constitute a disease-relevant compartment in PD, with their molecular cargo representing a potential mechanistic link between gut microbiota and PD.