Genetic, Transcriptome, Proteomic, and Epidemiological Evidence for Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption and Polymicrobial Brain Invasion as Determinant Factors in Alzheimer’s Disease

Carter, Chris J.

Together these data suggest a significant parallel between the upregulated genes in the AD hippocampus and the responses to multiple and diverse infectious agents with little overall discrimination between viral, bacterial, fungal, or protozoan types of infection. This diversity is supported by the pattern recognition and antimicrobial survey. Multiple pathogens have been detected in the AD brain and the diversity of these infection related overlaps with the AD hippocampal transcriptome suggests that many other pathogens could induce similar pathological transcriptome changes. Microbiome studies in the AD brain and periphery will help to elucidate the role of multiple pathogens.