Microbial BMAA elicits mitochondrial dysfunction, innate immunity activation, and Alzheimer's disease features in cortical neurons.

Here we propose a unifying mechanism for AD neurodegeneration in which a microbial toxin can induce mitochondrial dysfunction and activate neuronal innate immunity, which ultimately results in Tau and Aβ pathology. Our data show that neurons, alone, can mount inflammatory responses, a role previously attributed exclusively to glial cells.