Imagine your gut as a detective, searching for clues to solve the mysterious case of Parkinson’s Disease. Researchers used bioinformatic analyses to uncover a group of suspects – gut metabolites found in feces – that might be linked to Parkinson’s. These metabolites, like ethanol, amino acids such as leucine and tyrosine, and fatty acids like butyrate, were identified and validated as potential risk factors for developing Parkinson’s. By understanding the relationship between these gut metabolites and the disease, scientists hope to find new ways to prevent and treat Parkinson’s. This breakthrough could provide valuable biomarkers for early disease detection and shed light on how environmental factors influence the development of neurodegenerative diseases. So grab your detective hat and join in the investigation by exploring the fascinating research on gut metabolites and Parkinson’s Disease!

BackgroundParkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease affecting the movement of elderly patients. Environmental exposures are the risk factors for PD; however, gut environmental risk factors for PD are critically understudied. The proof-of-concept study is to identify gut metabolites in feces, as environmental exposure risk factors, that are associated with PD and potentially increase the risk for PD by using leverage of known toxicology results.Materials and methodsWe collected the data regarding the gut metabolites whose levels were significantly changed in the feces of patients with PD from the original clinical studies after searching the following databases: EBM Reviews, PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, and Elsevier ClinicalKey. We further searched each candidate metabolite-interacting PD gene set by using the public Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD), identified and validated gut metabolites associated with PD, and determined gut metabolites affecting specific biological functions and cellular pathways involved in PD by using PANTHER tools.ResultsSixteen metabolites were identified and divided into the following main categories according to their structures and biological functions: alcohols (ethanol), amino acids (leucine, phenylalanine, pyroglutamic acid, glutamate, and tyrosine), short-chain fatty acids (propionate and butyrate), unsaturated fatty acids (linoleic acid and oleic acid), energy metabolism (lactate, pyruvate, and fumarate), vitamins (nicotinic acid and pantothenic acid), and choline metabolism (choline). Finally, a total of three identified metabolites, including butyrate, tyrosine, and phenylalanine, were validated that were associated with PD.ConclusionOur findings identified the gut metabolites that were highly enriched for PD genes and potentially increase the risk of developing PD. The identification of gut metabolite exposures can provide biomarkers for disease identification, facilitate an understanding of the relationship between gut metabolite exposures and response, and present an opportunity for PD prevention and therapies.

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