Research Paper Volume 12, Issue 7 pp 6324—6339
Anterior thalamic nucleus stimulation protects hippocampal neurons by activating autophagy in epileptic monkeys
Figure 8. Schematic illustration of the mechanism of ANT-DBS-mediated neuroprotection against KA-induced cell injury. KA injures mitochondria, leading to induction of apoptosis via caspase-9 and -3. KA also inhibits autophagy by inducing BDNF expression and TrkB activation. ANT-DBS inhibits BDNF expression and TrkB activation induced by KA, followed by dephosphorylation of Akt and ERK, which lead to inactivation of mTORC1, thereby stimulating autophagy and clearance of injured cells by autolysosomes, and suppression of apoptosis.