Conclusions
rTMS exerts a potentially protective role in the prevention and treatment of AD by reducing ApoE expression and promoting autophagic flux, which provides a new insight into the mechanism of rTMS.
Results
The APP/PS1 mice at 3-month-old were treated by 5 Hz high-frequency (HF) rTMS for two weeks. After rTMS treatment, the AD-like cognitive impairments of APP/PS1 mice were investigated subsequently, and molecular mechanisms underlying was further explored. The study showed that the 2-week rTMS at 5Hz frequency improved cognitive impairments and AD-like pathology (including a decrease in p-Tau, APP, Aβ, and PP2A expression) of APP/PS1 mice. Although BDNF-TrkB signaling was significantly enhanced, no differences of SYN, PSD95 and p-AKT were observed in the brain of APP/PS1 mice. On the contrary, the LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ ratio was elevated with a significant reduction of ApoE and p62 in mice. Conclusions: rTMS exerts a potentially protective role in the prevention and treatment of AD by reducing ApoE expression and promoting autophagic flux, which provides a new insight into the mechanism of rTMS.