SIVOMIXX® PROBIOTIC FORMULATION AS A COADJUVANT THERAPY FOR PARKINSON’S DISEASE: PRECLINICAL EVIDENCE ON 6-OHDA MODELS

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease, characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons. Detrimental effects of PD involve inflammation, neurodegeneration and a reduced neurotrophic support. To date, there are no treatments available. Moreover, PD can involve also the bidirectional interaction between the central nervous system and the enteric nervous system: the gut-brain axis. For this reason, gut microbiome modification exerted by probiotics can play a crucial role as a coadjuvant therapy for PD. The aim of this work was to study the effect of a probiotic formulation SIVOMIXX® (SLAB51) in in vitro and in vivo models of PD. For this aim, we first tested the probiotic formulation extract on differentiated SH-SY5Y into dopaminergic phenotype treated with 6-OHDA, to dissect, using western blotting analysis, the molecular pathways involved in neuroprotection and cell death. Then, we daily administered via oral gavage the probiotic formulation in 6-OHDA-lesioned C57BL/6 mice to evaluate the effects of the probiotic on behavior, neurodegeneration and inflammation. Notably, in this study we observed in both the models an involvement of PPARγ that may trigger anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities as well as a modulation of pro-survival pathways. Overall, our studies suggested that SIVOMIXX® (SLAB51) can represent a promising candidate for PD coadjuvant therapy confirming previous evidence on the effect of gut microbiota modulation on neuroprotective pathways.