Methamphetamine induced neuroinflammation in mouse brain and microglial cell line BV2: Roles of the TLR4/TRIF/Peli1 signaling axis

Abstract

Methamphetamine (Meth), a highly addictive drug, can induce irreversible neuronal damage and cause neuropsychiatric and cognitive disorders. Meth's effects on modulating microglial neuroimmune functions and eliciting neuroinflammation have attracted considerable attention in recent years. Recent evident of the effect of the non-dependent domain containing adaptor inducing interferon (TRIF)/Pellino1 (Peli1) signaling axis on pro-inflammatory cytokine production provides novel clues for inflammation. Therefore, our study investigated Meth-induced neurotoxicity from a neuropathological perspective by examining TLR4-TRIF-Peli1 axis signaling activation. Meth significantly activated microglia accompanied by marked increase of TLR4 and TRIF expression, NF-kB and MAPK pathways activation and the production of IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6. Peli1 was involved in Meth-mediated neuroinflammation and knockdown of Peli1 strongly reversed NF-kB and MAPK pathways activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine excretion. Intriguingly, Peli1 upregulation induced by Meth was dependent on TRIF rather than the myloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) pathway, since the silencing of TRIF significantly suppressed Meth-induced Peli1 upregulation, while MyD88 knockdown had no obvious impact. Additionally, an in vivo study verified TLR4-TRIF-Peli1 axis activation and an enhanced level of downstream cytokine expression in the cortex after Meth treatment. Therefore, these findings provide new insight regarding the specific contributions of the TRIF-Peli1 pathway to Meth-mediated neuroinflammation.