Bacteria-derived glutarate mitigates Alzheimer’s disease model pathology through autophagy-lysosomal pathway

Probiotics exert neuroprotective effects against Alzheimer's disease (AD) by modulating gut-brain axis pathways, though disease-modifying therapies remain unavailable. Our study revealed that Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain HB101 ameliorated AD-related phenotypes in Caenorhabditis elegans‌ (C. elegans) models, including learning deficits, neurodegeneration, and paralysis. Mechanistically, HB101 reduced amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregation by enhancing lysosomal activity, autophagy, and mitochondrial/endoplasmic reticulum unfolded protein responses (UPRmt/UPRer). Specifically, HB101 activated UPRmt via atfs-1 and sphk-1, and UPRer through pek-1. Metabolomic screening pinpointed glutarate as a bioactive metabolite that mitigates AD-related pathology through lysosomal activation and autophagy promotion.