Gut Dysbiosis: A New Avenue for Stroke Prevention and Therapeutics

Abstract

A stroke is a serious life-threatening condition and a leading cause of death and disability that happens when the blood vessels to part of the brain are blocked or burst. While major advances in the understanding of the ischemic cascade in stroke was made over several decades, limited therapeutic options and high mortality and disability have caused researchers to extend the focus toward peripheral changes beyond brain. The largest proportion of microbes in human body reside in the gut and the interaction between host and microbiota in health and disease is well known. Our study aimed to explore the gut microbiota in patients with stroke with comparison to control group. Fecal samples were obtained from 51 subjects: 25 stroke patients (18 hemorrhagic, 7 ischemic) and 26 healthy control subjects. The variable region V3–V4 of the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform. PICRUSt2 was used for prediction of metagenomics functions. Our results show taxonomic dysbiosis in stroke patients in parallel with functional dysbiosis. Here, we show that stroke patients have (1) increased Parabacteroides and Escherichia_Shigella, but decreased Prevotella and Fecalibacterium; (2) higher transposase and peptide/nickel transport system substrate-binding protein, but lower RNA polymerase sigma-70 factor and methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein, which are suggestive of malnutrition. Nutrients are essential regulators of both host and microbial physiology and function as key coordinators of host–microbe interactions. Manipulation of nutrition is expected to alleviate gut dysbiosis and prognosis and improve disability and mortality in the management of stroke.

Neural Correlates and Molecular Mechanisms of Memory and Learning

“…It also enables the investigation of structural changes in the brain and advances imaging techniques for clinical use [ 82 , 83 ]. Preclinical research and computational medicine are critical for unraveling the complexities of neurological and mental disorders, providing critical insights, facilitating treatment testing, and paving the way for novel therapeutics and personalized medicine [ 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 ].…”

Causal effects of gut microbiota on the prognosis of ischemic stroke: evidence from a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study

“…Genus Ruminococcaceae UCG005 may influence the stroke prognosis by the pathway of glucose and lipid metabolism. Furthermore, ample evidence shows that imbalance in GM contributes to the neuroinflammation and worse stroke outcomes (Huang et al, 2023 ; Park et al, 2023 ). An animal-based study found that maternal sleep deprivation (MSD) caused high expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in offspring rats Moreover, pro-inflammatory cytokines were positively associated with Ruminococcaceae UCG005 (Yao et al, 2022 ).…”

Hope for vascular cognitive impairment: Ac-YVAD-cmk as a novel treatment against white matter rarefaction

“…It has long been established that inflammation is associated with CBF during normal ageing [103] and across various disease conditions such as acute stroke [104][105][106] and chronic dementia [91,107], but its role during VCI remains unresolved. Our findings highlight the possibility of caspase-1 inhibition as a possible novel anti-inflammatory treatment strategy against cerebral hypoperfusion-induced white matter injury, microglial activation, and tight junction protein deregulation.…”