Background: Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterised by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra brain. Emerging evidence suggests that the gut microbiome may influence PD pathogenesis through the gut-brain axis, but the mechanisms and causal relationships with specific bacteria strains remain unclear. In this study, we employed Mendelian Randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the causal effect of gut microbiota composition on PD.
Methods: We leveraged GWAS summary statistics of microbiome composition, including 35 microbial families on PD risk. We used instrumental variables derived from microbiome-related Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in MR analysis, with quality control procedures to ensure the independence of SNPs.
Results: Significant genetic correlations were observed between specific microbial families, such as Defluviitaleaceae and Victivallaceae, and PD. Notably, MR analyses also suggested a potential protective effect of Defluviitaleaceae (OR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.89-0.99, p = 0.015) and Victivallaceae (OR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.85-0.98, p = 0.017) families against the risk of developing PD.
Conclusion: These findings shed light on the interplay between gut microbiota and PD, highlighting the potential role of specific microbial families in modulating PD risk. Understanding the causal relationship between gut microbiota and PD may offer new therapeutic strategies for PD intervention and management. Further research is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and validate these findings across independent cohorts.