Silk fibroin@polydopamine for acupoint catgut-embedding therapy in Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVE

We developed a novel silk fibroin@polydopamine (SF@PDA) material and investigated the mechanism of SF@PDA acupoint implantation for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a mouse model.

METHODS

In the materials research phase, we characterized the surface morphology and properties of the novel SF@PDA composites and evaluated their safety using the cell counting kit-8 assay. Following the intervention, C57BL/6 mice underwent open-field experiments and the Morris water maze test. We analyzed the collected tissues with hematoxylin-eosin staining, immunofluorescent staining, Western blotting, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS

After acupoint implantation, SF@PDA reduced amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition and preserve neurons, thereby improving cognitive performance. In particular, SF@PDA can reduce the expression of inflammatory factors, including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α, and inhibit the inflammatory response, thereby further reducing Aβ accumulation and neuronal damage. The SF@PDA treatment resulted in an increase in exploratory behavior and a decrease in the number of errors in mice. Meanwhile, the number of Aβ plaques in the brain was significantly reduced (P < 0.05), and inflammatory cell infiltration was lessened.

CONCLUSION

SF@PDA acupoint implantation has significant therapeutic effects on AD model mice. The mechanism can be related to the inhibition of inflammatory response, reduction of Aβ deposition, and promotion of nerve regeneration. Please cite this article as: Wang C, Liu X, Fan Y, Liu GY, Wu P, Li SC, Du YJ. Silk fibroin@polydopamine for acupoint catgut-embedding therapy in Alzheimer's disease. J Integr Med. 2026; 24(3):415-428.