Short Report 2026-04-20 under-review v1

Chronic lithium exposure reshapes PI3K–mTOR-linked proteostatic networks in the hippocampus of an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model

C
Caíque de Oliveira Portugal Couto Institute of Psychiatry of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo
M
Maria Luiza Hass das Eiras Institute of Psychiatry of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo
J
João Lucas Juliao de Morais Institute of Psychiatry of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo
C
Carlos Wagner Leal Cordeiro Júnior Institute of Psychiatry of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo
O
Orestes Vicente Forlenza Institute of Psychiatry of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo
V
VANESSA De Jesus Rodrigues de Paula Institute of Psychiatry of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) involves a progressive loss of neuronal integrity in which chronic neuroinflammation is increasingly recognized as a contributing factor. Sustained activation of innate immune pathways, including Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling, has been linked to microglial reactivity and hippocampal dysfunction in experimental models of the disease. Lithium has been reported to exert neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects, yet the molecular pathways underlying these actions in AD remain poorly defined. Here, we investigated how long-term lithium exposure influences hippocampal protein networks in a triple transgenic mouse model of AD (3xTg-AD). Hippocampal tissue from wild-type and 3xTg-AD mice treated chronically with subtherapeutic (1 mM) or therapeutic (2 mM) lithium concentrations for eight months was analyzed using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Proteomic profiling revealed widespread lithium-associated changes in proteins related to immune response, cellular stress, and inflammatory regulation. Network-based analyses highlighted components of the TLR4/NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways as prominent nodes that were reduced in lithium-treated animals relative to controls. Together, these data indicate that chronic lithium treatment is associated with a remodeling of hippocampal inflammatory signaling in a mouse model of AD. Although additional functional studies will be necessary to establish mechanistic links, the present findings support the view that lithium-sensitive immune pathways may be relevant to the modulation of neuroinflammatory processes in Alzheimer’s disease.

Citation Information

@article{caquedeoliveiraportugalcouto2026,
  title={Chronic lithium exposure reshapes PI3K–mTOR-linked proteostatic networks in the hippocampus of an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model},
  author={Caíque de Oliveira Portugal Couto and Maria Luiza Hass das Eiras and João Lucas Juliao de Morais and Carlos Wagner Leal Cordeiro Júnior and Orestes Vicente Forlenza and VANESSA De Jesus Rodrigues  de Paula},
  journal={Molecular Neurobiology},
  year={2026},
  doi={https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9077098/v1}
}
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