Mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and its role in Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common neurological disease in the elderly, and the major manifestations are cognitive dysfunction, neuronal loss, and neuropathic lesions in the brain. In the process of AD pathogenesis, the inflammatory response plays an indispensable role. The nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome containing NOD, leucine-rich repeat (LRR), and pyran domains is a multi-molecular complex that can detect dangerous signals related to neurological diseases. The assembly of NLRP3 inflammasome promotes the maturation of interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and IL-18 mediated by caspase-1 in microglia, which leads to neuroinflammation and finally contributes to the occurrence and development of AD. This review aimed to clarify the structure and activating mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome and its key role in the pathogenesis of AD, summarize the latest findings on the suppression of NLRP3 inflammasome activation for the treatment of AD, as well as indicate that targeting regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome assembly may be a potential strategy for the treatment of AD, providing a theoretical basis for the research of AD.