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A multi-omics framework integrating gut microbiota, blood metabolites, and immune cells to elucidate the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

Overview

Authors: Bei Wang1, Wei Yan1, Yusheng Zhang1
  1. Naval Medical Centre, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
Journal: Frontiers in immunology, volume 17, article 1842398
Dates: received 30 March 2026; accepted 26 May 2026; published online 6 July 2026
Type: Research article · Language: English
License: CC BY
Identifiers: DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1842398 · PMID 42519311 · PMCID PMC13381253 · OpenAlex W7167541061
Open access: gold, a free copy (OpenAlex)
Status: data only
Categories: genetics / omics (modality), human (organism), Alzheimer's / dementia (population), cellular / molecular (subfield)
Methods: Statistics, Smoothing, state filtering, decompositions, Machine learning, Connectivity, fMRI & imaging
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, machine learning, Mendelian randomization, microbiota-metabolite-immune axis, multi-omics integration
MeSH: Alzheimer Disease*, Gastrointestinal Microbiome*, Gene Expression Profiling, Humans, Machine Learning, Mendelian Randomization Analysis, Multiomics, Spatial Transcriptomics, Transcriptome (* major topic)
Topic: Gut microbiota and health (Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology), according to OpenAlex
Citations: not cited yet (Europe PMC); 45 references in the paper

Abstract

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) develops through complex interactions between the central nervous system and peripheral systems. The microbiota-metabolite-immune axis has emerged as an important focus of AD research. However, the coordinated mechanisms that regulate this axis remain poorly understood.

Methods: We used a multi-stage, multi-omics strategy to systematically investigate peripheral–central interactions in AD. The analytical framework integrated Mendelian randomization (MR), summary-data-based Mendelian randomization (SMR), differential expression analysis, machine learning, single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) trend confirmation.

Results: Exploratory MR analyses identified multiple microbial taxa, metabolites, and immune cell phenotypes showing associations consistent with potential causal effects on AD. Integrating the SMR and MR findings with differential expression analysis led to the identification of 31 core genetically associated genes. A five-gene predictive model comprising ATF7IP2, TWSG1, PTPRN2, ASCC3 and IGF1R was then developed using machine learning. The diagnostic potential of the individual feature genes was further evaluated in an external validation dataset. Spatial transcriptomic analyses revealed clear cell type-specific expression patterns in brain tissue, with IGF1R, ASCC3and TWSG1 showing potential co-localization in oligodendrocytes. qPCR trend confirmation in pooled samples produced expression trends consistent with the directions inferred from eQTL-based MR.

Conclusions: This study mapped a regulatory network underlying the AD microbiota–metabolite-immune-brain axis and identified core genes with potential diagnostic and therapeutic value. The spatial transcriptomic findings, while primarily based on in situ co-localization analysis, highlight a biologically plausible but provisional working hypothesis regarding an active role for oligodendrocytes in AD pathology. Overall, this study supports a systems-level view of AD that may inform precision medicine strategies.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

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Data

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Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material. The public transcriptomic data presented in the study are deposited in the GEO repository, accession numbers GSE138260 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE138260), GSE37263 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE37263), GSE5281 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE5281), GSE29378 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE29378), and GSE36980 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE36980) (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/). The single-cell RNA sequencing data and spatial transcriptomic data presented in the study are deposited in the GEO repository, accession numbers GSE157827 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE157827) and GSE220442 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE220442). Genetic association data and eQTL statistics presented in the study are deposited in the IEU Open GWAS database (https://opengwas.io/datasets/).

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Versions

The history of this record: each version stored by the harvester or made by a correction of its authors or of the maintainers of its code, and what changed in its facts. The texts of the paper (its abstract, its availability statements) are not part of it; versions that changed only those are not listed.

Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, pages, dates, 3 authors, 5 keywords, 9 MeSH terms, 45 references.

Cite

This paper

Wang, B., Yan, W., & Zhang, Y. (2026). A multi-omics framework integrating gut microbiota, blood metabolites, and immune cells to elucidate the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Frontiers in immunology, 17, 1842398. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1842398

BibTeX

@article{wang2026multi,
author = {Wang, Bei and Yan, Wei and Zhang, Yusheng},
title = {{A multi-omics framework integrating gut microbiota, blood metabolites, and immune cells to elucidate the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Frontiers in immunology},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
volume = {17},
pages = {1842398},
publisher = {Frontiers Media SA},
issn = {1664-3224},
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2026.1842398},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1842398},
pmid = {42519311},
pmcid = {PMC13381253}
}

RIS

TY - JOUR
AU - Wang, Bei
AU - Yan, Wei
AU - Zhang, Yusheng
TI - A multi-omics framework integrating gut microbiota, blood metabolites, and immune cells to elucidate the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease
T2 - Frontiers in immunology
J2 - Front Immunol
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/06
VL - 17
SP - 1842398
SN - 1664-3224
PB - Frontiers Media SA
DO - 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1842398
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1842398
LA - en
ER -

CSL-JSON

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