Effect of enriched environment on the chronic sleep deprivation mice by NLRP3/Caspase-1 signal pathway

Enriched environment (EE) serves as a crucial intervention strategy that enhances central neural plasticity and facilitates motor, sensory, cognitive, and social stimulation. This multifaceted approach ultimately promotes the recovery of cognitive functions in the brain. However, the mechanism is unclear. Neuroinflammation has been proven associated with cognitive impairment. NLRP3 plays a crucial role in neuroinflammation induced sleep deprivation. Our study was to investigate the effect of EE on the chronic sleep deprivation mice by NLRP3/Caspase-1 signal pathway. In this study, the modified multi-platform method (MMPM) was applied to establish the chronic sleep deprivation model. The novel object recognition test (NORT) was used to assess the ability of learning and memory. The evaluation of hippocampal neuronal injury was achieved by performing Nissl staining and immunofluorescence. To evaluate the protein and mRNA expression of NLRP3, Caspase-1, and ASC, western blot and RT-qPCR were utilized. Compared with the SD group, the mice in the SD+ EE group demonstrated longer and more often to explore novel objects and alleviating neuroinflammation in the hippocampal. The mRNA and protein of NLRP3, Caspase-1, and ASC were decreased in the SD+ EE group. Enriched environment can improve the cognitive impairment induced by chronic sleep deprivation through the NLRP3/Caspase-1 signal pathway.