The Microglia and NLRP3 Inflammasome as a Potential Area of Interest in Understanding the Mechanism of Cerebiome

Chronic stress increases the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Specifically, chronic stress can cause increased microglial activation, leading to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines through the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. Pro-inflammatory cytokines play a role in the development and progression of certain brain diseases. Cerebiome has been associated with a reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines. However, there is limited research on Cerebiome’s impact on microglia cells and the NLRP3 inflammasome. Therefore, our research will establish whether probiotics positively alleviate the activation of microglia and the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway and explore the mechanism by which this occurs. Understanding how neuroinflammation occurs and the triggering factors would allow greater insight into implementing specific therapeutics in chronic stress models. This research will provide the medical community with proactive alternative treatments, as well as expand upon the current knowledge of the capacity of probiotics (such as Lallemand Health Solutions, Inc.’s Cerebiome) to positively influence healthy neurodevelopment.

Faculty Supervisor:

Nafissa Ismail

Student:

Partner:

Lallemand Health Solutions Inc (Montreal, QC)

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Agriculture; Manufacturing; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Ottawa

Program: