Detection of fungal sequences in human brain: rDNA locus amplification and deep sequencing

Abstract The aetiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are unknown and tend to manifest at a late stage in life; even though these neurodegenerative diseases are caused by different affected proteins, they are both characterized by neuroinflammation. Links between bacterial...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rodrigo Leitao, Iam Ut Wan, Harry Chown, Thomas J. Williams, Matthew C. Fisher, Johanna Rhodes
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-12-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-82840-7
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Summary:Abstract The aetiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are unknown and tend to manifest at a late stage in life; even though these neurodegenerative diseases are caused by different affected proteins, they are both characterized by neuroinflammation. Links between bacterial and viral infection and AD/PD has been suggested in several studies, however, few have attempted to establish a link between fungal infection and AD/PD. In this study we adopted a nanopore-based sequencing approach to characterise the presence or absence of fungal genera in both human brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We observed the presence of small fungal burden DNA in two AD brains and a control case (extensive amyloid angiopathy). This approach would be well-placed to investigate potential links between microbial infection and neurodegenerative disease.
ISSN:2045-2322