Maraviroc attenuates inflammation-exacerbated cognitive and amyloid pathology in an early-stage Alzheimer’s disease mouse model

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline, and increasing evidence indicates that systemic inflammation can accelerate disease progression. Maraviroc, a CCR5 antagonist approved for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, has shown neuroprotective effects in several neurological contexts, but its role in AD-related pathology remains unclear. In this study, cognitive performance was assessed in 5 × FAD mice using the Y-maze, novel object recognition, novel location recognition, and social discrimination tests. Amyloid-related changes were evaluated by hippocampal APP/Aβ immunoblotting and plaque staining using 6E10 and Thioflavin S. Glial responses were examined by IBA1 and GFAP immunostaining, and inflammatory cytokines were quantified by ELISA. We found that 5 × FAD mice exhibited age-dependent cognitive impairments, with detectable deficits emerging at 3 months of age. Systemic administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) further exacerbated cognitive dysfunction, amyloid-related alterations, and neuroinflammatory responses in young 5 × FAD mice. Maraviroc treatment attenuated LPS-associated cognitive impairments, reduced amyloid-related measures, and dampened pro-inflammatory cytokine responses, with a trend toward reduced microglial cell density. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that systemic inflammation accelerates Alzheimer’s-like pathology and cognitive decline, and suggest that pharmacological modulation of neuroinflammatory signaling by maraviroc may mitigate inflammation-driven disease exacerbation at early stages. Schematic diagram illustrating the effects of maraviroc on LPS-induced cognitive deficits in 3-month-old 5 × FAD mice. In this model, maraviroc is associated with modulation of glial inflammatory responses, reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, and alleviation of amyloid pathology in the hippocampus, which together coincide with improved cognitive performance. Figure created with BioRender.com.