As one of the most frequent complications of diabetes, diabetic neuropathy often involves peripheral and central nervous systems. Neuroinflammation is the key pathogenic factor of secondary nerve injury in diabetes. NOD-like receptor pyrin domain-containing 3(NLRP3) inflammasome is a group of subcellular multiprotein complexes, including NLRP3, apoptosis associated speck-like protein(ASC), and pro-cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 1(pro-caspase-1). NLRP3 inflammasome is an inducer of innate immune responses. Its activation stimulates the inflammatory cascade reaction, promotes the release of inflammatory mediators, triggers cell death and uncontrolled autophagy, activates glial cells, facilitates peripheral immune cell infiltration, and initiates amyoid β(Aβ)-tau cascade reactions. As a result, it contributes to the central nerve, somatic nerve, autonomic nerve, and retinal nerve cell damage secondary to diabetes. Therefore, due to its key role in the neuroinflammation responses of the body, NLRP3 inflammasome may provide new targets for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. With multi-target and low-toxicity advantages, traditional Chinese medicine plays a vital role in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. Accumulating evidence has shown that traditional Chinese medicine exerts curative effects on diabetic neuropathy possibly through regulating NLRP3 inflammasome. Although the role of NLRP3 inflammasome in diabetes and related complications has been investigated in the literature, systematical studies on drugs and mechanism analysis for secondary neuropathy are still lacking. In this article, the role of NLRP3 inflammasome in diabetic neuropathy was explored, and the research progress on traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy through NLRP3 inflammasome was reviewed.
Keywords: NLRP3 inflammasome; central nervous system; diabetic neuropathy; neuroinflammation; peripheral nervous system; traditional Chinese medicine.