Mitoapocynin Attenuates Organic Dust Exposure-Induced Neuroinflammation and Sensory-Motor Deficits in a Mouse Model

Neuroinflammaging: A Tight Line Between Normal Aging and Age-Related Neurodegenerative Disorders

Aging in the healthy brain is characterized by a low-grade, chronic, and sterile inflammatory process known as neuroinflammaging. This condition, mainly consisting in an up-regulation of the inflammatory response at the brain level, contributes to the pathogenesis of age-related neurodegenerative disorders. Development of this proinflammatory state involves the interaction between genetic and environmental factors, able to induce age-related epigenetic modifications. Indeed, the exposure to environmental compounds, drugs, and infections, can contribute to epigenetic modifications of DNA methylome, histone fold proteins, and nucleosome positioning, leading to epigenetic modulation of neuroinflammatory responses. Furthermore, some epigenetic modifiers, which combine and interact during the life course, can contribute to modeling of epigenome dynamics to sustain, or dampen the neuroinflammatory phenotype. The aim of this review is to summarize current knowledge about neuroinflammaging with a particular focus on epigenetic mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of neuroinflammatory cascades in the central nervous system; furthermore, we describe some diagnostic biomarkers that may contribute to increase diagnostic accuracy and help tailor therapeutic strategies in patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

Fluoxetine protects against inflammation and promotes autophagy in mice model of post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a major public health problem due to its frequency, chronicity, and disability that impact daily life. Studies have evidenced that the activation/inhibition of autophagy and excessive activation of microglia have a relationship with PTSD. For this purpose, C57BL/6 mice were employed to establish the post-traumatic stress disorder pathology mice model by conditioned fear and single prolonged stress (CF + SPS). Fluoxetine and PLX3397 were administered. PTSD-like behaviors were alleviated following fluoxetine treatment, evidenced via open field and conditioned fear test. Autophagy-associated proteins were upregulated, and inflammation factors were reduced after fluoxetine treatment. Microglia depletion mice showed a lower inflammatory level. In conclusion, fluoxetine can promote autophagy and inhibit neuroinflammation in mice model of PTSD, providing a theoretical basis for fluoxetine in treating PTSD.