Influence of the Gut Microbiota on the Development of Neurodegenerative Diseases

Figure 1

An illustration of microbiome-gut-brain axis in Parkinson’s condition. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) may be permeable to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and other bacterial metabolites, which could allow them to enter the brain and cause the release of several chemokines and cytokines that would contribute to inflammation in Parkinson’s disease. Leaky gut also known as compromised gut epithelial barrier integrity may result from microorganisms in the lumen of the gut promoting inflammatory mechanisms and harming intestinal enterocytes. Bacterial metabolites, like LPS, can cross the compromised gut barrier from the lumen of the gut to the bloodstream and potentially cause systemic and neuroinflammation in the brain.

(a) Normal

(b) Parkinson’s disease