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Heston MB, Hanslik KL, Zarbock KR, Harding SJ, Davenport-Sis NJ, Kerby RL, Chin N, Sun Y, Hoeft A, Deming Y, Vogt NM, Betthauser TJ, Johnson SC, Asthana S, Kollmorgen G, Suridjan I, Wild N, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Rey FE, Bendlin BB, Ulland TK. Gut inflammation associated with age and Alzheimer's disease pathology: a human cohort study. Sci Rep 2023; 13:18924. [PMID: 37963908 PMCID: PMC10646035 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45929-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Age-related disease may be mediated by low levels of chronic inflammation ("inflammaging"). Recent work suggests that gut microbes can contribute to inflammation via degradation of the intestinal barrier. While aging and age-related diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD) are linked to altered microbiome composition and higher levels of gut microbial components in systemic circulation, the role of intestinal inflammation remains unclear. To investigate whether greater gut inflammation is associated with advanced age and AD pathology, we assessed fecal samples from older adults to measure calprotectin, an established marker of intestinal inflammation which is elevated in diseases of gut barrier integrity. Multiple regression with maximum likelihood estimation and Satorra-Bentler corrections were used to test relationships between fecal calprotectin and clinical diagnosis, participant age, cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of AD pathology, amyloid burden measured using 11C-Pittsburgh compound B positron emission tomography (PiB PET) imaging, and performance on cognitive tests measuring executive function and verbal learning and recall. Calprotectin levels were elevated in advanced age and were higher in participants diagnosed with amyloid-confirmed AD dementia. Additionally, among individuals with AD dementia, higher calprotectin was associated with greater amyloid burden as measured with PiB PET. Exploratory analyses indicated that calprotectin levels were also associated with cerebrospinal fluid markers of AD, and with lower verbal memory function even among cognitively unimpaired participants. Taken together, these findings suggest that intestinal inflammation is linked with brain pathology even in the earliest disease stages. Moreover, intestinal inflammation may exacerbate the progression toward AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margo B Heston
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Kendra L Hanslik
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Katie R Zarbock
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Sandra J Harding
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Nancy J Davenport-Sis
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Robert L Kerby
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Nathaniel Chin
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Yi Sun
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Ana Hoeft
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Yuetiva Deming
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Nicholas M Vogt
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Tobey J Betthauser
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Sterling C Johnson
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Sanjay Asthana
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | | | | | | | - Henrik Zetterberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden
- Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, UK
- Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hong Kong, China
| | - Kaj Blennow
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden
- Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Federico E Rey
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
| | - Barbara B Bendlin
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
| | - Tyler K Ulland
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
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