A review of studies on the implication of NLRP3 inflammasome for Parkinson’s disease and related candidate treatment targets

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Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease for which the prevalence is second only to Alzheimer's disease (AD). This disease primarily affects people of middle and old age, significantly impacting their health and quality of life. The main pathological features include the degenerative nigrostriatal dopaminergic (DA) neuron loss and Lewy body (LB) formation. Currently, available PD medications primarily aim to alleviate clinical symptoms, however, there is no universally recognized therapy worldwide that effectively prevents, clinically treats, stops, or reverses the disease. Consequently, the evaluation and exploration of potential therapeutic targets for PD are of utmost importance. Nevertheless, the pathophysiology of PD remains unknown, and neuroinflammation mediated by inflammatory cytokines that prompts neuron death is fundamental for the progression of PD. The nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is a key complex of proteins linking the neuroinflammatory cascade in PD. Moreover, mounting evidence suggests that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) alleviates PD by suppressing the NLRP3 inflammasome. This article aims to comprehensively review the available studies on the composition and activating mechanism of the NLRP3 inflammasome, along with its significance in PD pathogenesis and potential treatment targets. We also review natural products or synthetic compounds which reduce neuroinflammation via modulating NLRP3 inflammasome activity, aiming to identify new targets for future PD diagnosis and treatment through the exploration of NLRP3 inhibitors. Additionally, this review offers valuable references for developing new PD treatment methods.