A single-cell transcriptomic atlas of all cell types in the brain of 5xFAD Alzheimer mice in response to dietary inulin supplementation

Abstract Background Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is a major threat to the aging population. Due to lack of effective therapy, preventive treatments are important strategies to limit AD onset and progression, of which dietary regimes have been implicated as...

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Main Authors: Xiaoyan Wang, Houyu Zhang, Zhou Wan, Xuetong Li, Carlos F. Ibáñez, Meng Xie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-05-01
Series:BMC Biology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02230-x
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author Xiaoyan Wang
Houyu Zhang
Zhou Wan
Xuetong Li
Carlos F. Ibáñez
Meng Xie
author_facet Xiaoyan Wang
Houyu Zhang
Zhou Wan
Xuetong Li
Carlos F. Ibáñez
Meng Xie
author_sort Xiaoyan Wang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is a major threat to the aging population. Due to lack of effective therapy, preventive treatments are important strategies to limit AD onset and progression, of which dietary regimes have been implicated as a key factor. Diet with high fiber content is known to have beneficial effects on cognitive decline in AD. However, a global survey on microbiome and brain cell dynamics in response to high fiber intake at single-cell resolution in AD mouse models is still missing. Results Here, we show that dietary inulin supplementation synergized with AD progression to specifically increase the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila in gut microbiome of 5 × Familial AD (FAD) mice. By performing single-nucleus RNA sequencing on different regions of the whole brain with three independent biological replicates, we reveal region-specific changes in the proportion of neuron, astrocyte, and granule cell subpopulations upon inulin supplementation in 5xFAD mice. In addition, we find that astrocytes have more pronounced region-specific diversity than microglia. Intriguingly, such dietary change reduces amyloid-β plaque burden and alleviates microgliosis in the forebrain region, without affecting the spatial learning and memory. Conclusions These results provide a comprehensive overview on the transcriptomic changes in individual cells of the entire mouse brain in response to high fiber intake and a resourceful foundation for future mechanistic studies on the influence of diet and gut microbiome on the brain during neurodegeneration.
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spelling doaj-art-e8ff869771fd4afa8450058d608f573f2025-08-20T03:53:13ZengBMCBMC Biology1741-70072025-05-0123112510.1186/s12915-025-02230-xA single-cell transcriptomic atlas of all cell types in the brain of 5xFAD Alzheimer mice in response to dietary inulin supplementationXiaoyan Wang0Houyu Zhang1Zhou Wan2Xuetong Li3Carlos F. Ibáñez4Meng Xie5School of Basic Medical Sciences, Capital Medical UniversityChinese Institute for Brain Research, Zhongguancun Life Science ParkSchool of Life Sciences, Peking UniversitySchool of Life Sciences, Peking UniversitySchool of Basic Medical Sciences, Capital Medical UniversityPeking-Tsinghua Center for Life SciencesAbstract Background Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is a major threat to the aging population. Due to lack of effective therapy, preventive treatments are important strategies to limit AD onset and progression, of which dietary regimes have been implicated as a key factor. Diet with high fiber content is known to have beneficial effects on cognitive decline in AD. However, a global survey on microbiome and brain cell dynamics in response to high fiber intake at single-cell resolution in AD mouse models is still missing. Results Here, we show that dietary inulin supplementation synergized with AD progression to specifically increase the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila in gut microbiome of 5 × Familial AD (FAD) mice. By performing single-nucleus RNA sequencing on different regions of the whole brain with three independent biological replicates, we reveal region-specific changes in the proportion of neuron, astrocyte, and granule cell subpopulations upon inulin supplementation in 5xFAD mice. In addition, we find that astrocytes have more pronounced region-specific diversity than microglia. Intriguingly, such dietary change reduces amyloid-β plaque burden and alleviates microgliosis in the forebrain region, without affecting the spatial learning and memory. Conclusions These results provide a comprehensive overview on the transcriptomic changes in individual cells of the entire mouse brain in response to high fiber intake and a resourceful foundation for future mechanistic studies on the influence of diet and gut microbiome on the brain during neurodegeneration.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02230-xAlzheimer’s diseaseSingle-nucleus RNA sequencingInulinBrain
spellingShingle Xiaoyan Wang
Houyu Zhang
Zhou Wan
Xuetong Li
Carlos F. Ibáñez
Meng Xie
A single-cell transcriptomic atlas of all cell types in the brain of 5xFAD Alzheimer mice in response to dietary inulin supplementation
BMC Biology
Alzheimer’s disease
Single-nucleus RNA sequencing
Inulin
Brain
title A single-cell transcriptomic atlas of all cell types in the brain of 5xFAD Alzheimer mice in response to dietary inulin supplementation
title_full A single-cell transcriptomic atlas of all cell types in the brain of 5xFAD Alzheimer mice in response to dietary inulin supplementation
title_fullStr A single-cell transcriptomic atlas of all cell types in the brain of 5xFAD Alzheimer mice in response to dietary inulin supplementation
title_full_unstemmed A single-cell transcriptomic atlas of all cell types in the brain of 5xFAD Alzheimer mice in response to dietary inulin supplementation
title_short A single-cell transcriptomic atlas of all cell types in the brain of 5xFAD Alzheimer mice in response to dietary inulin supplementation
title_sort single cell transcriptomic atlas of all cell types in the brain of 5xfad alzheimer mice in response to dietary inulin supplementation
topic Alzheimer’s disease
Single-nucleus RNA sequencing
Inulin
Brain
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02230-x
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