Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) From a Human at Low Risk for Alzheimer's Disease Improves Short-Term Recognition Memory and Increases Neuroinflammation in a 3xTg AD Mouse Model

Human microbiota-associated murine models, using fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from human donors, help explore the microbiome's role in diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study examines how gut bacteria from donors with protective factors against AD influence behavior and brain pathology in an AD mouse model. Female 3xTgAD mice received weekly FMT for 2 months from (i) an 80-year-old AD patient (AD-FMT), (ii) a cognitively healthy 73-year-old with the protective APOEe2 allele (APOEe2-FMT), (iii) a 22-year-old healthy donor (Young-FMT), and (iv) untreated mice (Mice-FMT). Behavioral assessments included novel object recognition (NOR), Y-maze, open-field, and elevated plus maze tests; brain pathology (amyloid and tau), neuroinflammation (in situ autoradiography of the 18 kDa translocator protein in the hippocampus); and gut microbiota were analyzed. APOEe2-FMT improved short-term memory in the NOR test compared to AD-FMT, without significant changes in other behavioral tests. This was associated with increased neuroinflammation in the hippocampus, but no effect was detected on brain amyloidosis and tauopathy. Specific genera, such as Parabacteroides and Prevotellaceae_UGC001, were enriched in the APOEe2-FMT group and associated with neuroinflammation, while genera like Desulfovibrio were reduced and linked to decreased neuroinflammation. Gut microbiota from a donor with a protective factor against AD improved short-term memory and induced neuroinflammation in regions strategic to AD. The association of several genera with neuroinflammation in the APOEe2-FMT group suggests a collegial effect of the transplanted microbiome rather than a single-microbe driver effect. These data support an association between gut bacteria, glial cell activation, and cognitive function in AD.