Abstract
Huntington disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by a trinucleotide repeat expansion in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. Metabolic dysfunction is a feature of HD that is recapitulated in HD mouse models. Our lab has shown that circadian feeding rhythms are disrupted in humanized HD mice and restored by suppression of brain HTT. Furthermore, when circadian feeding rhythm is artificially restored, in addition to normalization of metabolic function, liver and striatal HTT is temporarily reduced, demonstrating that HTT is involved in gut-brain feedback. The gut microbiome, which can regulate gut-brain feedback, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of other central nervous system disorders and we hypothesize it also plays a role in HD. The objective of this study is to investigate alterations in relative abundance of HD gut microbiota using existing plasma metabolomics data to identify candidate bacteria. If distinct microbiota profiles are demonstrated, this would provide the basis for future unbiased studies to investigate the complete HD microbiome.
Thesis Completion
2018
Semester
Fall
Thesis Chair/Advisor
Southwell, Amber
Degree
Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
College
College of Medicine
Department
Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences
Location
College of Medicine
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus-only Access
1 year
Release Date
12-1-2019
Recommended Citation
Hart, Casey G., "Investigating the Role of the Gut Microbiome in Huntington Disease" (2018). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 418.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses/418