[HN Gopher] Common bacteria (Chlamydia) discovered in the eye li...
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       Common bacteria (Chlamydia) discovered in the eye linked to
       cognitive decline
        
       Author : bikenaga
       Score  : 26 points
       Date   : 2026-02-02 19:15 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (medicalxpress.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (medicalxpress.com)
        
       | bikenaga wrote:
       | Original article: "Identification of Chlamydia pneumoniae and
       | NLRP3 inflammasome activation in Alzheimer's disease retina" -
       | https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-68580-4
       | 
       | Abstract: "Chlamydia pneumoniae is an intracellular bacterium
       | implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but its role in retinal
       | pathology and disease progression is unclear. Here we identify
       | Chlamydia pneumoniae inclusions in the retina, showing higher
       | burden in AD retina and brain, increasing with APOEe4, disease
       | stage, and cognitive deficit. Retinal and cortical proteomics
       | reveal bacterial-infection and related NLRP3-inflammasome
       | pathways. Retinal NLRP3 is elevated in mild cognitive impairment
       | and activated in AD dementia, evidenced by increased caspase-1,
       | cleaved interleukin-1b, and cleaved N-terminal gasdermin-D.
       | Chlamydia pneumoniae associates with amyloid-b42, inflammation,
       | apoptosis, pyroptosis, and AD status. In neuronal cultures and
       | APPSWE/PS1DE9 model mice, infection induces amyloid-b,
       | inflammasome activation, neuroinflammation, and neurotoxicity,
       | and chronic infection worsens cognition. Fewer pathogen-
       | colocalized microglia are found in AD retinas, implying impaired
       | clearance. Machine learning detects retinal Chlamydia pneumoniae
       | or NLRP3, combined with amyloid-b42, as predictors of AD
       | diagnosis and stage. These findings support a disease-amplifying
       | role for Chlamydia pneumoniae and propose NLRP3-attenuation or
       | antibiotic-based early interventions."
        
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       (page generated 2026-02-02 23:01 UTC)