Neuroinflammation and neurohormesis in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer-linked pathologies: modulation by nutritional mushrooms

Abstract

Human life develops and expands not only in time and space, but also in the retrograde permanent recollection and interweaving of memories. Therefore, individual human identity depends fully on a proper access to the autobiographical memory. Such access is hindered or lost under pathological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, including recently associated oxidant pathologies, such as ocular neural degeneration occurring in glaucoma or neurosensorial degeneration occurring in Menière's disease. Oxidative stress and altered antioxidant systems have been suggested to play a role in the aetiology of major neurodegenerative disorders, and altered expression of genes sensing oxidative stress, as well as decreased cellular stress response mechanisms could synergistically contribute to the course of these oxidant disorders. Thus, the theory that low levels of stress can produce protective responses against the pathogenic processes is a frontier area of neurobiological research focal to understanding and developing therapeutic approaches to neurodegenerative disorders. Herein, we discuss cellular mechanisms underlying AD neuroinflammatory pathogenesis that are contributory to Alzheimer's disease. We describe endogenous cellular defence mechanism modulation and neurohormesis as a potentially innovative approach to therapeutics for AD and other neurodegenerative conditions that are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammation. Particularly, we consider the emerging role of the inflammasome as an important component of the neuroprotective network, as well as the importance of Coriolus and Hericium nutritional mushrooms in redox stress responsive mechanisms and neuroprotection.

Keywords: Mushrooms; Neurodegenerative disorders; Neurohormesis; Oxidative stress.

Fig. 1

NLRP3 and redox alterations in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer disease: Redox equilibrium is maintained by the balance of ROS and antioxidants. If ROS prevail, cells undergo oxidative stress and NLRP3 inflammasome activation. If antioxidants prevail, reductive stress may occur with NLRP3 inflammasome suppression

Fig. 2

Coriolus versicolor (a) and Hericium erinaceus (b) mushrooms