Enrichment of gut-derived metabolites in a Parkinson’s disease subtype with REM sleep behavior disorder

Abstract Recent reports indicate that Parkinson’s disease (PD)-like changes in gut microbial signatures develop in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), a prodrome of α-synucleinopathies. However, <50% of PD cases exhibit RBD at onset, underscoring PD’s heterogeneity. Using untargeted me...

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Main Authors: Sunjae Lee, Jihyun Kim, Jae Woo Baek, Ki-Young Jung, Yunjong Lee, Ara Koh, Han-Joon Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:npj Parkinson's Disease
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-01040-w
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author Sunjae Lee
Jihyun Kim
Jae Woo Baek
Ki-Young Jung
Yunjong Lee
Ara Koh
Han-Joon Kim
author_facet Sunjae Lee
Jihyun Kim
Jae Woo Baek
Ki-Young Jung
Yunjong Lee
Ara Koh
Han-Joon Kim
author_sort Sunjae Lee
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Recent reports indicate that Parkinson’s disease (PD)-like changes in gut microbial signatures develop in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), a prodrome of α-synucleinopathies. However, <50% of PD cases exhibit RBD at onset, underscoring PD’s heterogeneity. Using untargeted metabolomics, plasma samples from PD patients with and without RBD, iRBD subjects, and healthy controls were analyzed to characterize the metabolic differences in PD patients with and without RBD. Metabolomic analysis revealed the enrichment of gut microbial-origin metabolites, such as secondary bile acids and p-cresol sulfate, in PD patients with RBD, while metabolites linked to neuropsychiatric diseases were elevated in PD patients without RBD. Additionally, our prediction that p-cresol sulfate, enriched in the RBD groups with a gut microbial origin, crosses the blood-brain barrier, suggests a potential mechanistic link between gut microbial dysbiosis, iRBD, and PD with RBD. Our study elucidates the heterogeneous nature of PD subtypes.
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spelling doaj-art-5ce4dc4e4e654befaaa88bcd9ee9cd6f2025-08-20T03:03:29ZengNature Portfolionpj Parkinson's Disease2373-80572025-07-011111910.1038/s41531-025-01040-wEnrichment of gut-derived metabolites in a Parkinson’s disease subtype with REM sleep behavior disorderSunjae Lee0Jihyun Kim1Jae Woo Baek2Ki-Young Jung3Yunjong Lee4Ara Koh5Han-Joon Kim6Department of Life Sciences, Gwangju Institute of Science and TechnologyDepartment of Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and TechnologyDepartment of Life Sciences, Gwangju Institute of Science and TechnologyDepartment of Neurology, Seoul National University Hospital, College of Medicine, Seoul National UniversityDepartment of Pharmacology, Sungkyunkwan University School of MedicineDepartment of Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and TechnologyDepartment of Neurology, Seoul National University Hospital, College of Medicine, Seoul National UniversityAbstract Recent reports indicate that Parkinson’s disease (PD)-like changes in gut microbial signatures develop in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), a prodrome of α-synucleinopathies. However, <50% of PD cases exhibit RBD at onset, underscoring PD’s heterogeneity. Using untargeted metabolomics, plasma samples from PD patients with and without RBD, iRBD subjects, and healthy controls were analyzed to characterize the metabolic differences in PD patients with and without RBD. Metabolomic analysis revealed the enrichment of gut microbial-origin metabolites, such as secondary bile acids and p-cresol sulfate, in PD patients with RBD, while metabolites linked to neuropsychiatric diseases were elevated in PD patients without RBD. Additionally, our prediction that p-cresol sulfate, enriched in the RBD groups with a gut microbial origin, crosses the blood-brain barrier, suggests a potential mechanistic link between gut microbial dysbiosis, iRBD, and PD with RBD. Our study elucidates the heterogeneous nature of PD subtypes.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-01040-w
spellingShingle Sunjae Lee
Jihyun Kim
Jae Woo Baek
Ki-Young Jung
Yunjong Lee
Ara Koh
Han-Joon Kim
Enrichment of gut-derived metabolites in a Parkinson’s disease subtype with REM sleep behavior disorder
npj Parkinson's Disease
title Enrichment of gut-derived metabolites in a Parkinson’s disease subtype with REM sleep behavior disorder
title_full Enrichment of gut-derived metabolites in a Parkinson’s disease subtype with REM sleep behavior disorder
title_fullStr Enrichment of gut-derived metabolites in a Parkinson’s disease subtype with REM sleep behavior disorder
title_full_unstemmed Enrichment of gut-derived metabolites in a Parkinson’s disease subtype with REM sleep behavior disorder
title_short Enrichment of gut-derived metabolites in a Parkinson’s disease subtype with REM sleep behavior disorder
title_sort enrichment of gut derived metabolites in a parkinson s disease subtype with rem sleep behavior disorder
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-025-01040-w
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