TRPV1 regulates ApoE4-disrupted intracellular lipid homeostasis and decreases synaptic phagocytosis by microglia

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease: Protein-activating chili extract improves brain’s immune function A chili pepper extract that activates a sensory protein helps to improve lipid metabolism in immune cells in the brain, leading to better nerve cell health in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. A team led by Zhihua Yu and Hongzhuan Chen from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China, showed that mice carrying the ApoE4 risk factor gene for Alzheimer’s exhibited defects in how well their brain’s immune cells, known as microglia, processed lipids. These problems were exacerbated when the microglia lacked a working version of a sensory protein called TRPV1. Boosting the activity of this protein with capsaicin, a TRPV1-stimulating molecule found in hot chili peppers, reversed the metabolic defects, leading to improved microglial function, reduced Alzheimer’s-associated brain pathology and enhanced memory in the mice.