A published study led by researchers in Western Australia has made a valuable contribution to the growing understanding of gut-related chronic inflammation as a driver of Parkinson’s disease pathology.
Parkinson’s is defined by movement impairment, but people with this neurodegenerative disorder also experience non-motor symptoms, the most common of which is gastrointestinal dysfunction, especially constipation.
The study, ‘Immune and metabolic signatures characterise constipation-driven endophenotypes in Parkinson’s disease’, was published in the Nature Portfolio journal npj Parkinson’s Disease, an international journal devoted to publishing scientific advances in Parkinson’s research.
“While evidence suggests that Parkinson’s pathology may originate in the gut, where microbial disruption and immune dysregulation contribute to neuroinflammation, the mechanisms underlying this are unclear,” said first author Dr Abbey Figliomeni.
“Despite being classified as a disease of the central nervous system, the knowledge that people with Parkinson’s may present with symptoms of gastrointestinal dysfunction, in particular constipation, up to decades before the onset of the classical motor symptoms has prompted ongoing research efforts to understand how this contributes to Parkinson’s pathophysiology.
“Our study is important as it reaffirms the notion that people with Parkinson’s exhibit an imbalance in blood and gut metabolism and immune cell dysregulation.
“It also underscores the potential of immune profiles to distinguish people with Parkinson’s with severe gut symptoms from those without, which are thought to be associated with distinct pathways of disease development. This may have particular relevance for the success of emerging gut- or immune-targeted therapies for people with Parkinson’s disease.
The research data in this paper summarises the core findings of Dr Figliomeni’s PhD which she completed at WA’s Perron Institute and The University of Western Australia last year. After a year as a Postdoctoral Researcher at The Kids Institute, Dr Figliomeni is now at the M3 Institute at the Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Germany.
Joint senior authors of this study are Dr Belinda Kaskow (Perron Institute, UWA and Personalised Medicine Centre Murdoch University) and Dr Ryan Anderton (University of Notre Dame).
The other authors are Dr Samantha Winter (Perron Institute, UWA, University of Notre Dame), Madison Abonnel and Dr Jade Kenna (University of Notre Dame), Dr Samantha Lodge, Dr Luke Whiley and Andres Bernal (Australian National Phenome Centre, Murdoch University), Dr Jerome Coudert (Université de Toulouse, France and Personalised Medicine Centre, Murdoch University), Dr Jonathan Noonan (Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne).