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Dietary silver nanoparticle supplementation induces Alzheimer-like lesions through Bifidobacterium deficiency-dominated gut microbiota dysbiosis and neuroinflammation
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  • Published: 04 April 2026

Dietary silver nanoparticle supplementation induces Alzheimer-like lesions through Bifidobacterium deficiency-dominated gut microbiota dysbiosis and neuroinflammation

  • Rongshang Shou1 na1,
  • Ziyue Wang1 na1,
  • Zige Han1,
  • Anyao Li1,
  • Jiaxin Shang1,
  • He Lou1,
  • Fangmin Zhang1,
  • Yingqi Zhan1,
  • Guofang Shen2,
  • Xiaoyan Lu1,3,4,
  • Haiping Jiang5 &
  • …
  • Xiaohui Fan1,3,4 

npj Science of Food , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Biochemistry
  • Diseases
  • Microbiology
  • Neuroscience

Abstract

Dietary supplement silver nanoparticles have recently drawn attention following reports of hazards associated with long-term use. However, their biosafety, especially their effects on the gut-brain axis, remains largely unexplored. This study demonstrated that dietary supplement silver nanoparticles can accumulate in the intestines, brain, and liver of mice. Chronic exposure to these nanoparticles leads to Alzheimer-like lesions, primarily by disrupting gut microbiota balance. Specifically, this exposure depletes Bifidobacterium and Ruminococcaceae, resulting in reduced intestinal metabolites such as sphingomyelin (d18:1/20:0), tryptophan, and indole. Consequently, this disruption causes neuroinflammation, cognitive impairment, and amyloid-β deposition in mice. Moreover, Bifidobacterium was identified as a key microbial group contributing to Alzheimer-like lesions after exposure, whereas supplementation with Bifidobacterium breve MCC1274 effectively alleviated these lesions. Therefore, the potential risks of silver nanoparticles in dietary supplements should be carefully evaluated. This study provides a promising new direction for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer-like lesions through microbial interventions.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Key R&D Program of Zhejiang (No.2024SDXT001-7), the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No. LY23B070004), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82374136 & No. 82574631). The authors gratefully acknowledge D. Song and G. Zhu in the Center of Cryo-Electron Microscopy (CCEM), Zhejiang University with assistance on STEM.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Rongshang Shou, Ziyue Wang.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pharmaceutical Informatics Institute, School of pharmacy, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

    Rongshang Shou, Ziyue Wang, Zige Han, Anyao Li, Jiaxin Shang, He Lou, Fangmin Zhang, Yingqi Zhan, Xiaoyan Lu & Xiaohui Fan

  2. Hangzhou Institute for Food and Drug Control, Hangzhou, China

    Guofang Shen

  3. State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Modernization, Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta, Zhejiang University, Jiaxing, China

    Xiaoyan Lu & Xiaohui Fan

  4. Jinhua Institute of Zhejiang University, Jinhua, China

    Xiaoyan Lu & Xiaohui Fan

  5. Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China

    Haiping Jiang

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Contributions

Rongshang Shou: Methodology, validation, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing—original draft, visualization. Ziyue Wang: Investigation, data curation, validation, writing—review and editing. Zig Han, Anyao Li, Jiaxin Shang, He Lou, Fangmin Zhang, Yingqi Zhan, Guofang Shen: Investigation, validation, data curation. Xiaoyan Lu: Conceptualization, supervision, project administration, resources, writing—review and editing, funding acquisition. Haiping Jiang: Supervision, project administration, resources, writing—review and editing. Xiaohui Fan: Conceptualization, supervision, project administration, resources, writing—review and editing, funding acquisition.

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Shou, R., Wang, Z., Han, Z. et al. Dietary silver nanoparticle supplementation induces Alzheimer-like lesions through Bifidobacterium deficiency-dominated gut microbiota dysbiosis and neuroinflammation. npj Sci Food (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00820-9

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  • Received: 12 January 2026

  • Accepted: 19 March 2026

  • Published: 04 April 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00820-9

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