The research, led by Michael Wagner from DOME in collaboration with CeMESS members and international partners from the UK, Denmark, and the US, highlights the often-overlooked effects of human-targeted drugs on microbial communities. Using a novel experimental approach, the team discovered that entacapone triggers iron starvation in the gut, promoting the growth of bacteria adapted to low-iron conditions. This groundbreaking study offers insights into how certain drugs can unintentionally alter the gut microbiome and suggests strategies to mitigate these effects.
Parkinson's Drug Disrupts Gut Microbiome Due to Iron Deficiency
Chemical imaging of active gut microbes. After brief incubation with heavy water, culture medium and a drug, various chemical bonds (here C-D and C-H) in the stool sample are shown in yellow and green, their ratio in yellow-purple (left). Selected microbes are detected in the same image section with fluorescence-labelled oligonucleotide probes in cyan. The activity of the detected microbes can be determined based on the amount of C-D bonds.
Photo credit: Xiaowei Ge (Boston University)