MoGen Seminar Series - Dr. Lesley MacNeil, McMaster University
Molecular Departmental Seminar Speakers Series
Speaker: Dr. Lesley MacNeil
Institution: McMaster University
Location: Galbraith Building (GB) 35 St. George Street. Room 220
Neuroprotection from the Microbiome: Multiple Mechanisms at Play
Neurodegenerative diseases are complex diseases that are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Correlative studies identify differences in microbiome composition between patients and controls in both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, suggesting the microbiome may have the potential to influence disease progression. C. elegans is a tractable model to examine the potential impact of different bacterial species on neurodegeneration. We find that neurodegeneration in C. elegans can be dramatically altered by exposure to different bacteria from the human microbiome. From a large-scale analysis of clinical isolates, we identified bacteria that increase or decrease neurodegeneration in models of Alzheimer’s disease. We focused our analysis on species that induce neuroprotection and found that different bacteria stimulate different host pathways to induce this protection, suggesting that bacteria have the potential to influence neurodegeneration in many different ways. Genetically, bacteria can influence neurodegeneration by influencing the insulin-like signaling pathway, the p38 MAPK pathway, and many other signaling and metabolic pathways. Our efforts to characterize how bacterial species from the human microbiome promote neuroprotection will be discussed.