Electroacupuncture pretreatment induces ischemic tolerance by neuronal TREM2-mediated enhancement of autophagic flux
Manping Yang, Yunying Wang, Shiquan Wang, Yaru Guo, Ting Gu, Liwen Shi, Junbao Zhang, Xiaoshuang Tuo, Xiaoyu Liu, Minjuan Zhang, Jiao Deng, Zongping Fang, Zhihong Lu
Abstract
The mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment-induced neuroprotection remains unclear. In this study, we found that neuronal Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) expression was increased and peaked at 48 h and 72 h after ischemia/reperfusion. After specific knockdown of TREM2 in excitatory neurons, neurological function was damaged, and the infarct volume was enlarged. Furthermore, the expression of LC3II/LC3I and Beclin1 was decreased, while the expression of p62 was increased. EA pretreatment enhanced TREM2, LC3II/LC3I and Beclin1 expression while reducing p62 in the ischemic penumbra area. The EA-induced neuroprotective effects and improvements in autophagic flux were abolished by specific knockdown of TREM2 in excitatory neurons. Taken together, our findings provide novel mechanistic insight into EA-induced ischemic tolerance and suggest a promising therapeutic strategy of targeting neuronal TREM2 to treat brain ischemia.