Manual Acupuncture Suppresses the Expression of Proinflammatory Proteins Associated with the NLRP3 Inflammasome in the Hippocampus of SAMP8 Mice

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.

Benign Regulation of the Astrocytic Phospholipase A2-Arachidonic Acid Pathway: The Underlying Mechanism of the Beneficial Effects of Manual Acupuncture on CBF

“…manifests anti-inflammatory (Ding et al, 2017), anti-oxidative Sutalangka et al, 2013), anti-apoptotic (Guo et al, 2015) and anti-Aβ effects Liu et al, 2017;Zhang M. et al, 2017) in AD. These effects meet the need for a multimodal AD therapy (Ubhi and Masliah, 2013;Ibrahim and Gabr, 2019).…”

“…Each needle was rotated bidirectionally within 90 • at a speed of 180 • /s. For the Pd group, donepezil hydrochloride tablets (Eisai China Inc, H20050978) were crushed and dissolved in distilled water and were delivered to mice by oral gavage at a dose of 0.65 µg/g (Geerts et al, 2005;Ding et al, 2017Ding et al, , 2019. The above treatments were administered once a day for 26 consecutive days, but no treatment was carried out in the Pc or Rc groups.…”

“…Acupuncture is effective in improving the sleep quality of elderly patients with dementia (Kwok et al, 2013;Simoncini et al, 2015). Studies have partially clarified the mechanisms by which acupuncture can prevent AD through anti-inflammatory (Ding et al, 2017), anti-oxidative (Sutalangka et al, 2013), and anti-apoptotic effects (Guo et al, 2015(Guo et al, , 2016. Moreover, acupuncture can modulate the functional activity and connectivity of specific cognition-related areas of the brain in AD patients (Wang et al, 2012Liang et al, 2014;Zheng et al, 2018).…”

Instant sedative effect of acupuncture at GV20 on the frequency of electroencephalogram α and β waves in a model of sleep deprivation

“…For the GV20 group, the needle was horizontally inserted at GV20 at the vertex of the rat's parietal bone (19) via an even reinforcing-reducing method, as described previously (20). The needle was rotated bidirectionally within 90˚ at a speed of 2 Hz.…”

Xanthoceraside prevented synaptic loss and reversed learning-memory deficits in APP/PS1 transgenic mice

“…Meanwhile, we provided the first evidence that xanthoceraside treatment attenuated the deficits of social activities in the social interaction test. Donepezil, one of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, is used for the treatment of AD patients [43] and usually used as a positive drug for basic research [44]. Xanthoceraside (0.32 mg/kg) had better results in behavioral tests than donepezil (1.3 mg/kg).…”