TNEA therapy promotes the autophagic degradation of NLRP3 inflammasome in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease via TFEB/TFE3 activation

Background The impairment in the autophagy-lysosomal pathway (ALP) and the activation of NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome represent two molecular events leading to neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a devastating neurodegenerative disorder without a cure. Previously we demonstrated the cognitive-enhancing effect of a combined electroacupuncture (EA) therapy termed TNEA in a transgenic mouse model of AD, involving activation of transcription factor EB (TFEB), a master regulator of ALP. However, whether and how TNEA inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome via TFEB-mediated ALP in AD remains to be investigated. Methods 5xFAD mice overexpressing amyloid-β (Aβ) were treated with TNEA or EA on its composing acupoints (GB13 and GV24). The changes in the signaling pathways regulating NLRP3 inflammasome, the association of NLRP3 inflammasome with ALP, and the roles of TFEB/TFE3 in mice brains were determined by immunoblots, immunohistochemistry and AAV-mediated knockdown assays. Results TNEA inhibits the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and the release of active interleukin 1β (IL1B) in the hippocampi of 5xFAD mice. Mechanistically, TNEA promoted the autophagic degradation of inflammasome components via activating both TFEB and TFE3 by modulating kinases including AMPK and AKT. The composing acupoints in TNEA showed synergistic effects on regulating these molecular events and memory improvement. Conclusion Our findings suggest that TNEA attenuates AD-associated memory impairment via promoting TFEB/TFE3-mediated autophagic clearance of Aβ and NLRP3 inflammasome, and partially reveal the molecular basis of combined acupoints therapy originated from ancient wisdom.