Acupuncture inhibits TXNIP‐associated oxidative stress and inflammation to attenuate cognitive impairment in vascular dementia rats

• Published in: CNS neuroscience & therapeutics Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 39 - 46
• Main Authors: Du, Si‐Qi, Wang, Xue‐Rui, Zhu, Wen, Ye, Yang, Yang, Jing‐Wen, Ma, Si‐Ming, Ji, Cai‐Shuo, Liu, Cun‐Zhi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2018; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Acupuncture; Acupuncture Therapy - methods; Animals; Carotid artery; Carrier Proteins - genetics; Carrier Proteins - metabolism; Caspase; Caspase 3 - metabolism; Caspase-1; Cell Cycle Proteins; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Cognition Disorders - therapy; Cognitive ability; cognitive impairment; Dementia; Dementia disorders; Dementia, Vascular - complications; Dementia, Vascular - pathology; Disease Models, Animal; DNA damage; Gene Expression Regulation - physiology; Hippocampus; Hippocampus - metabolism; Hippocampus - pathology; Immunofluorescence; Inflammasomes; Inflammasomes - metabolism; Inflammation; Interleukin 1; Interleukin-1beta - genetics; Interleukin-1beta - metabolism; Male; Maze Learning - physiology; Neuroprotection; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein - genetics; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein - metabolism; Occlusion; Original; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - physiology; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase - metabolism; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Reactive oxygen species; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; RNA, Small Interfering - genetics; RNA, Small Interfering - metabolism; Rodents; siRNA; Studies; Superoxide Dismutase - metabolism; Thioredoxin; thioredoxin‐interacting protein; Vascular dementia; cognitive impairment; thioredoxin-interacting protein; inflammation; vascular dementia; oxidative stress
• ISSN: 1755-5930; 1755-5949; 1755-5949
• DOI: 10.1111/cns.12773

Summary Aims Oxidative stress and inflammation have been implicated in the pathogenesis of vascular dementia (VD). Thioredoxin‐interacting protein (TXNIP) plays a vital role in oxidative stress and NOD‐like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation. There is evidence that acupuncture has an antioxidative and neuroprotective effect in VD. In this study, we investigated whether acupuncture can attenuate cognitive impairment via inhibiting TXNIP‐associated oxidative stress and inflammation in VD rats. Methods Both common carotid arteries were occluded (2‐vessel occlusion [2VO]) in rats to model VD. The neuroprotective effect of acupuncture was assessed by the Morris water maze and Nissl staining. Oxidative stress was assessed by detecting levels of reactive oxygen species, DNA oxidation, and antioxidase. Western blot, real‐time PCR, and immunofluorescence were used to detect the expression of TXNIP, NLRP3, caspase‐1, and IL‐1β. A TXNIP siRNA intraventricular injection was applied to investigate whether acupuncture mimicked the effect of TXNIP inhibitor. Results Our findings demonstrated that VD rats treated with acupuncture had reduced hippocampal neuronal loss and oxidative stress. The upregulation of TXNIP, NLRP3, caspase‐1, and IL‐1β induced by 2VO was also reversed by acupuncture. Furthermore, TXNIP siRNA had a similar effect as acupuncture on cognition, hippocampal neurons, and ROS production in VD rats. Conclusion In conclusion, our study suggests that the neuroprotective effects of acupuncture in VD are mediated through reducing expression of TXNIP‐associated oxidative stress and inflammation.