Revisiting inbred mouse models to study the developing brain: the potential role of intestinal microbiota

Abstract

The life-long cumulative exposures (exposome) to environmental contaminants (even low-grade lead, mercury, arsenic etc.) and biological hazards (favoring enteric pathogens and altered “unhealthy” intestinal microbiota) alone or in combination are now being increasingly recognized to deleteriously influence the brain's development and potentially the way the brain copes with aging-related conditions, including neurodegenerative diseases (Costa et al., 2004; Senut et al., 2012; Tshala-Katumbay et al., 2015). The latter may involve sub-optimal development of “cognitive reserve,” which is likely dependent upon a “healthy” and enriched environment to which one is exposed early in life. The potential importance of cognitive reserves to protect from aging-related neurodegeneration is suggested by post-mortem evidence showing that some individuals are better adapted to Alzheimer's disease (AD) related brain injury than others (Marques et al., 2016); some patients who show post-mortem beta-amyloid plaques in the brain had not suffered from AD symptoms during life.