Identification of an altered gut microbiome and the protective effect of microbiome changer in prion diseases

TL;DR

This study identifies changes in gut bacteria linked to prion diseases and shows that a microbiome-modifying compound can offer protection in mice.

Contribution

The study identifies 14 gut microbiome biomarkers and demonstrates the protective effect of EGCG in prion-infected mice.

Findings

Prion-infected mice showed 14 differentially abundant gut microbiome taxa compared to controls.

Prion disease altered microbiome networks and increased DNA repair-related pathways.

EGCG, a microbiome-modifying compound, showed protective effects against prion disease in mice.

Abstract

Prion diseases are fatal and contagious brain disorders caused by a pathogenic prion protein (PrPSc) derived from the benign prion protein (PrPC). To date, there are no therapeutic substances to completely block prion diseases. Thus, the development of a therapeutic substance is necessary, and the identification of a novel biomarker of prion disease is the first essential step to develop new drugs. In the present study, we carried out a metagenomic analysis to identify microbiome biomarkers for prion disease using next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics tools in intraperitoneally prion-infected mice. In addition, we evaluated the protective effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a potent microbiome changer, in prion-infected mice by western blotting and survival analysis. We found a total of 14 differentially abundant taxa between prion-infected and control mice. In addition, we found that prion diseases caused altered microbiome networks and upregulation of DNA repair-related pathways. Furthermore, we observed the protective effect of the microbiome changer EGCG against prion disease in prion-infected mice. Given previous reports of microbiome alterations in prion diseases, we further validated these associations and demonstrated the protective effects of a microbiome-modulating compound.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13567-025-01699-2.

Figures