Research Center of Neuroscience, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, China.
Department of Physiology, Jiaxing University Medical College, Jiaxing, China.
Mol Neurobiol. 2024 Nov;61(11):9723-9734. doi: 10.1007/s12035-024-04341-y. Epub 2024 Jul 8.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease all over the world. In the last decade, accumulating proofs have evidenced that neuroinflammation is intimately implicated in the pathogenesis of AD and activation of NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 1 (NLRP1) inflammasome can induce neuronal pyroptosis and in turn lead to neuronal loss in AD. Thioredoxin-1 (Trx-1), a multifunctional molecule with anti-inflammation in human tissues, displays crucial neuroprotective roles in AD. Our previous research preliminarily found that Trx-1 inhibition enhanced the expression of NLRP1, caspase-1, and gasdermin D (GSDMD) in Aβ-treated PC12 cells. However, it is largely unknown if Trx-1 can inhibit NLRP1-mediated neuronal pyroptosis in AD neurons. In this study, it was verified that the protein levels of NLRP1, caspase-1, and GSDMD were significantly increased in Aβ-treated mouse HT22 and primary hippocampal neurons. Suppression of Trx-1 with PX-12, a selective inhibitor of Trx-1, or Trx-1 knockdown further activated NLRP1-mediated neuronal pyroptosis. On the contrary, lentivirus infection-mediated Trx-1 overexpression in differentiated PC12 cells dramatically reversed expression of NLRP1, caspase-1, and GSDMD. Furthermore, Trx-1 overexpression mediated by adeno-associated virus in the hippocampal tissues of APP/PS1 mice likewise attenuated the activation of NLRP1-mediated neuronal pyroptosis, as well as reduced the hippocampal deposition of Aβ and ameliorated the cognitive function of APP/PS1 mice. In conclusion, this article predicates a novel molecular mechanism by which Trx-1 exploits neuroprotection through attenuating NLRP1-mediated neuronal pyroptosis in AD models, suggesting that Trx-1 may be a promising therapeutic target for AD.
阿尔茨海默病(AD)是全世界最常见的神经退行性疾病。在过去的十年中,越来越多的证据表明神经炎症与 AD 的发病机制密切相关,NOD 样受体家族 pyrin 结构域包含蛋白 1(NLRP1)炎症小体的激活可诱导神经元细胞发生细胞焦亡,进而导致 AD 中的神经元丢失。硫氧还蛋白-1(Trx-1)是一种在人体组织中具有抗炎作用的多功能分子,在 AD 中表现出重要的神经保护作用。我们之前的研究初步发现,Trx-1 抑制可增强 Aβ 处理的 PC12 细胞中 NLRP1、半胱天冬酶-1 和 Gasdermin D(GSDMD)的表达。然而,Trx-1 是否可以抑制 AD 神经元中的 NLRP1 介导的神经元细胞焦亡在很大程度上尚不清楚。在这项研究中,验证了 NLRP1、半胱天冬酶-1 和 GSDMD 的蛋白水平在 Aβ 处理的小鼠 HT22 和原代海马神经元中显著增加。Trx-1 的选择性抑制剂 PX-12 或 Trx-1 敲低可进一步激活 NLRP1 介导的神经元细胞焦亡。相反,分化的 PC12 细胞中过表达 Trx-1 的慢病毒感染可显著逆转 NLRP1、半胱天冬酶-1 和 GSDMD 的表达。此外,APP/PS1 小鼠海马组织中腺相关病毒介导的 Trx-1 过表达同样减弱了 NLRP1 介导的神经元细胞焦亡的激活,减少了 Aβ 在海马中的沉积,并改善了 APP/PS1 小鼠的认知功能。总之,本文提出了一种新的分子机制,即 Trx-1 通过减轻 AD 模型中 NLRP1 介导的神经元细胞焦亡来发挥神经保护作用,提示 Trx-1 可能是 AD 的一个有前途的治疗靶点。