Gut microbes tune inflammation and lifespan in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Fang, Ping; Hsiao, Elaine Y.

doi:10.1038/d41586-020-01335-3

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13 May 2020

Gut microbes tune inflammation and lifespan in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

There is growing evidence that gut microbes can influence disease. Analysis of a mouse model of the neurodegenerative condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis offers insight into how gut bacteria might contribute to this illness.

Ping Fang⁰ &
Elaine Y. Hsiao¹

Ping Fang
1. Ping Fang is in the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
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Elaine Y. Hsiao
1. Elaine Y. Hsiao is in the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
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Animals have co-evolved with diverse communities of microorganisms that are integral to the development and activity of their immune and nervous systems¹. Alterations in the composition and function of the community of gut microorganisms (termed the microbiota) are increasingly being implicated in neurological disorders that involve neuroinflammation, including multiple sclerosis², autism spectrum disorder³ and Parkinson’s disease⁴. Studies are also emerging that link the gut microbiota to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive loss of motor neurons crucial for movement, speech and cognition. This devastating disease is usually fatal within a few years of diagnosis. Writing in Nature, Burberry et al.⁵ fill some gaps in our knowledge of how gut microbes might contribute to ALS, from studies of the condition in a mouse model. Their findings might help to shed light on how a gene linked to ALS called C9orf72 affects this disease.

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Nature 582, 34-35 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-01335-3

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