Cited by 706Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchGut microbiota and healthAlzheimer's disease research and treatments

Altered bile acid profile associates with cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease—An emerging role for gut microbiome

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MahmoudianDehkordi, Siamak, Arnold, Matthias, Nho, Kwangsik, Ahmad, Shahzad, Jia, Wei, Xie, Guoxiang, Louie, Gregory, Kueider‐Paisley, Alexandra +29 more·2019·Alzheimer's & Dementia

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

Introduction: Increasing evidence suggests a role for the gut microbiome in central nervous system disorders and a specific role for the gut‐brain axis in neurodegeneration. Bile acids (BAs), products of cholesterol metabolism and clearance, are produced in the liver and are further metabolized by gut bacteria. They have major regulatory and signaling functions and seem dysregulated in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: Serum levels of 15 primary and secondary BAs and their conjugated forms were measured in 1464 subjects including 370 cognitively normal older adults, 284 with early mild cognitive impairment, 505 with late mild cognitive impairment, and 305 AD cases enrolled in the AD Neuroimaging Initiative. We assessed associations of BA profiles including selected ratios with diagnosis, cognition, and AD‐related genetic variants, adjusting for confounders and multiple testing. Results: In AD compared to cognitively normal older adults, we observed significantly lower serum concentrations of a primary BA (cholic acid [CA]) and increased levels of the bacterially produced, secondary BA, deoxycholic acid, and its glycine and taurine conjugated forms. An increased ratio of deoxycholic acid:CA, which reflects 7α‐dehydroxylation of CA by gut bacteria, strongly associated with cognitive decline, a finding replicated in serum and brain samples in the Rush Religious Orders and Memory and Aging Project. Several genetic variants in immune response–related genes implicated in AD showed associations with BA profiles. Discussion: We report for the first time an association between altered BA profile, genetic variants implicated in AD, and cognitive changes in disease using a large multicenter study. These findings warrant further investigation of gut dysbiosis and possible role of gut‐liver‐brain axis in the pathogenesis of AD.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.jalz.2018.07.217

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  • Disturbance in the gut microflora results in increased production of secondary cytotoxic bile acid, mainly deoxycholic acid, which can cross the blood brain barrier and get deposited in the brain leading to apoptosis, generation of reactive oxygen species, inflammation and neurodegeneration.

    “Disturbance in the gut microflora results in increased production of secondary cytotoxic bile acid, mainly deoxycholic acid, which can cross the blood brain barrier and get deposited in the brain leading to apoptosis, generation of reactive oxygen species, inflammation and neurodegeneration [21].”
  • Studies in AD patients report a consistent pattern of reduced levels of primary bile acids and elevated levels of secondary bile acids.

    “Although studies in AD patients have yielded slightly heterogeneous results in BA composition, they have reported a consistent pattern of reduced levels of primary BAs and elevated levels of secondary BAs.”
  • Secondary bile acids associated with AD and cognitive impairments include DCA, LCA, glycodeoxycholic acid, taurodeoxycholic acid, glycolithocholic acid, and taurolithocholic acid.

    “Secondary BAs associated with AD and cognitive impairments include DCA, LCA, glycodeoxycholic acid, taurodeoxycholic acid, glycolithocholic acid, and taurolithocholic acid.355–358”
  • Secondary BA levels were associated with the progression of AD symptoms from mild to severe, with higher levels of secondary BAs being correlated with worse cognitive function.

    “Secondary BA levels were associated with the progression of AD symptoms from mild to severe, with higher levels of secondary BAs being correlated with worse cognitive function [79].”
  • AD patients have decreased levels of systemic primary BAs and enhanced levels of distinct secondary BAs compared to healthy controls, which are directly correlated with impairments in cognitive functioning and brain glucose mechanism.

    “AD patients have been found to demonstrate decreased levels of systemic primary BAs and enhanced levels of distinct secondary BAs (the product of gut microbial metabolism) when compared to healthy controls, which are directly correlated with impairments in cognitive functioning and brain glucose mechanism [79].”

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. [1]Alzheimer's A. 2017 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2017; 13: 325– 73.
  2. [42]Marksteiner J, Blasko I, Kemmler G, Koal T, Humpel C. Bile acid quantification of 20 plasma metabolites identifies lithocholic acid as a putative biomarker in Alzheimer’s disease. Metabolomics. 2018; 14: 1. 29249916 PMC5725507
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Authors
MahmoudianDehkordi, S., Arnold, M., Nho, K., Ahmad, S., Jia, W., Xie, G., Louie, G., Kueider‐Paisley, A., Moseley, M. A., Thompson, J. W., St John Williams, L., Tenenbaum, J. D., Blach, C., Baillie, R., Han, X., Bhattacharyya, S., Toledo, J. B., Schafferer, S., Klein, S., Koal, T., Risacher, S. L., Allan Kling, M., Motsinger‐Reif, A., Rotroff, D. M., Jack, J., Hankemeier, T., Bennett, D. A., De Jager, P. L., Trojanowski, J. Q., Shaw, L. M., Weiner, M. W., Doraiswamy, P. M., van Duijn, C. M., Saykin, A. J., Kastenmüller, G., Kaddurah‐Daouk, R., & for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative and the Alzheimer Disease Metabolomics Consortium
Affiliations
  • Duke University (US)
  • Indiana University Indianapolis (US)
  • Erasmus MC (NL)
  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
  • University of Hawaii Cancer Center (US)
  • Duke Proteomics and Metabolomics Shared Resource Center for Genomic and Computational Biology Durham NC USA
  • Rosa (United States) (US)
  • The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center (US)
  • University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (US)
  • Houston Methodist (US)
  • Biocrates Life Sciences (Austria) (AT)
  • Behavioral Health Service Crescenz VA Medical Center and Department of Psychiatry Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia PA USA
  • North Carolina State University (US)
  • Leiden University (NL)
  • Rush University Medical Center (US)
  • Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Department of Neurology Center for Translational & Computational Neuroimmunology New York NY USA
  • University of Pennsylvania (US)
  • San Francisco VA Medical Center (US)
  • Department of Epidemiology Erasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam the Netherlands
  • Helmholtz Munich (DE)
  • Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Duke University Durham NC USA
Corresponding author
  • Saykin, Andrew J.
  • Kastenmüller, Gabi
Venue
Alzheimer's & Dementia
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2018-10-15
Volume
15
Issue
1
Pages
76-92
ISSN
  • 1552-5260 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-5279
OpenAlex
W2794227656
Cited by
706
References
79
Citations by year
2026: 93 · 2025: 113 · 2024: 126 · 2023: 79 · 2022: 105 · 2021: 87 · 2020: 61 · 2019: 37 · 2018: 4
FWCI
36.97
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Alzheimer s & Dementia (publishedVersion)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
  • PuSH - Publication Server of Helmholtz Zentrum München (submittedVersion)
  • IUScholarWorks (Indiana University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Aging (R01AG046171, P30AG10161, R01AG15819, R01AG17917, U01AG46152, U01AG024904-09S4, P50NS053488, R01AG19771, P30AG10133, P30AG10124, K01AG049050, R03AG054936)
  • National Institutes of Health (U01 AG024904, R01 MH 098260, R01 AG 046171, 1RF AG 051550)
  • U.S. National Library of Medicine (R01LM011360, R00LM011384, R01 LM012535)
  • National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (R01EB022574)
  • Erasmus Medisch Centrum
  • Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
  • ZonMw
  • Directorate-General XII, Science, Research, and Development
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, bile acids
MeSH terms
Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Aged, Alzheimer Disease, Bile Acids and Salts, Female, Humans, Liver, Male, Metabolome, Cognitive Dysfunction, Dysbiosis

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