Edaravone Dexborneol ameliorates the cognitive deficits of APP/PS1 mice by inhibiting TLR4/MAPK signaling pathway via upregulating TREM2.

Currently, there are no effective therapeutic agents available to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, edaravone dexborneol (EDB), a novel composite agent used to treat acute ischemic stroke, has recently been shown to exert efficacious neuroprotective effects. However, whether EDB can ameliorate cognitive deficits in AD currently remains unclear. To this end, we explored the effects of EDB on AD and its potential mechanisms using an AD animal model (male APP/PS1 mice) treated with EDB for 10 weeks starting at 6 months of age. Subsequent analyses revealed that EDB-treated APP/PS1 mice exhibited improved cognitive abilities compared to untreated APP/PS1 mice. Administration of EDB in APP/PS1 mice further alleviated neuropathological alterations of the hippocampus, including Aβ deposition, pyramidal cell karyopyknosis, and oxidative damage, and significantly decreased the levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) and COX-2 in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice. Transcriptome sequencing analysis demonstrated the critical role of the inflammatory reaction in EDB treatment in APP/PS1 mice, indicating that the alleviation of the inflammatory reaction by EDB in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice was linked to the action of the TREM2/TLR4/MAPK signaling pathway. Further in vitro investigations showed that EDB suppressed neuroinflammation in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells by inhibiting the TLR4/MAPK signaling pathway and upregulating TREM2 expression. Thus, the findings of the present study demonstrate that EDB is a promising therapeutic agent for AD-related cognitive dysfunction.