Abstract
Objective To investigate the effect of manual acupuncture (MA) on NLRP3 inflammasome-related proteins. Methods SAMP8 mice were randomly divided into Alzheimer's disease (AD) group, the MA group, and the medicine (M) group. Mice in the M group were treated with donepezil hydrochloride at 0.65 μg/g. In the MA group, MA was applied on Baihui (GV20) and Yintang (GV29) for 20 min and then pricked at Shuigou (GV26). The Morris water maze was applied to assess spatial learning and memory. Immunohistochemical staining and western blot analysis were used to observe the expression of NLRP3 inflammasome-related proteins. ResultsCompared with the normal (N) control group, spatial learning and the memory capabilities of the AD group significantly decreased (p < 0.01). The number of NLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1, and IL-1β positively stained cells in the AD group was higher than the N group, and the relative expression levels of the above proteins were significantly higher than those in the N group (p < 0.01). These changes were reversed by both MA and donepezil (p < 0.01). Conclusion MA can improve the learning and memory capabilities of SAMP8 mice. The negative regulation of the NLRP3/Caspase-1 pathway in the hippocampus may be a possible mechanism of MA in the treatment of AD.
Highlights
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a type of neurodegenerative disease that is primarily characterized by progressive amnesia and has a high incidence among people over the age of 65
The results showed that 8-month-old Senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice have characteristic learning and memory deficits, which indicates that SAMP8 mice are ideal animal models for studying AD
These findings indicate that the inflammatory response induced by microglia in the hippocampus of 8-month-old SAMP8 mice undergoes similar pathological changes to the brains of AD patients
Summary
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a type of neurodegenerative disease that is primarily characterized by progressive amnesia and has a high incidence among people over the age of 65. In 2015, 46 million people lived with dementia worldwide; this number is estimated to increase to 131.5 million by 2050 [1]. This incurs a heavy burden for the social and economic development of a country and has already become the most urgent public health problem of the 21st century [1]. A meta-analysis supports the high safety of the technique and indicates that acupuncture is more effective than drugs at improving AD patients’ ability to carry out their daily lives and may even enhance the effects of drug treatments [2]. Enhancing antioxidation in the hippocampus [8], reversing the upregulation of astrocytic NDRG2 [9], improving mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism [10], and modulating the Wnt signal transduction pathway [11] have been confirmed as mechanisms by which acupuncture exerts its therapeutic effects during the treatment of AD
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