Newly discovered gut-derived metabolites play a role in neurodegeneration

A multi-institutional research team in New York found that the cerebrospinal fluid and plasma samples of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) contained high levels of three toxic metabolites produced by gut bacteria

Previously published evidence supports the concept that the imbalance of the gut microbiota (the biological community that lives in the human intestine) may be the source of a series of neurological disorders

"Our research results show that the intestinal bacteria of MS patients produce and release large amounts of p-cresol-sulfate, indolyl-sulfate and n-phenylacetylglutamine into the bloodstream and eventually reach the cerebrospinal fluid," the study said.

In this study, the research team obtained blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples from volunteer patients at the Multiple Sclerosis Center in Northeast New York

"The presence of these high levels of toxic metabolites is also associated with biomarkers of neurodegeneration in patients with multiple sclerosis and impairs the neurological function of cultured cells in the laboratory

"This is an exciting and important discovery," said Patrizia Casaccia, the main investigator of the study and the founding director of the City University's ASRC Neuroscience Program

The research team included scientists from City University ASRC, Northeast New York Medical Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Berg Health Center

Article title

Bacterial neurotoxic metabolites in multiple sclerosis cerebrospinal fluid and plasma