Multi-omics analyses identify gut microbiota-fecal metabolites-brain-cognition pathways in the Alzheimer’s disease continuum

Gut microbiota dysbiosis is linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD), but our understanding of the molecular and neuropathological bases underlying such association remains fragmentary.

Using 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing, untargeted metabolomics, and multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging, we examined group differences in gut microbiome, fecal metabolome, neuroimaging measures, and cognitive variables across 30 patients with AD, 75 individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 61 healthy controls (HC). Furthermore, we assessed the associations between these multi-omics changes using correlation and mediation analyses.