关键词: 帕金森病, 电针, 神经炎症, 叉头盒蛋白O1, NOD样受体热蛋白结构域相关蛋白3

Abstract:

Objective To investigate whether the mechanism of action of electro-acupuncture in MPTP-induced Parkinson's disease （PD） model mice is related to neuroinflammation mediated by the forkhead box protein O1 （FoXO1）/NOD-like receptor heat protein structural domain-related protein 3 （NLRP3） signaling pathway. Methods Thirty mice were randomly divided into control （Ctrl）， model （MPTP）， and electro-acupuncture （EA） groups， with 10 mice in each group. PD mouse model was prepared by intraperitoneal injection of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1，2，3，6-tetrahydropyridine （MPTP） 30 mg/（kg·d） for 7 d consecutively. Behavioral changes of mice were observed by open field and pole-climbing experiments； α-synuclein （α-syn） expression in the substantia nigra of the midbrain was observed by immunohistochemistry； FoXO1， NLRP3， ASC， and Caspase-1 were determined by Western blot； and the expression of inflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β） was detected by ELISA in the substantia nigra of the midbrain. Results Mice in the MPTP group showed significant behavioral deficits， with a significant increase in midbrain substantia nigra α-syn （P < 0.01）， elevated levels of Iba-1， FoXO1， NLRP3， ASC， and Caspase-1 proteins （P < 0.05 and P < 0.01， respectively）， and a significant increase in the levels of TNF-α， and IL-1β （P < 0.01）.The treatment of EA was effective in improve the dyskinesia of PD mice， improve motor balance and coordination （P < 0.01）， reduce the abnormal aggregation of α-syn （P < 0.01）， reduce the abnormal activation of microglia， and alleviate neuroinflammation （P < 0.05）. Conclusion Electro-acupuncture may play a protective role in PD by modulating FoXO1/NLRP3 pathway-mediated neuroinflammation.

Key words: Parkinson's disease, neuroinflammation, electro-acupuncture, forkhead box protein O1, NLRP3