spinal cord

neuronal apoptosis

cerebral ischemia

cerebral artery occlusion

expression levels

blood-brain barrier

brain damage

traumatic brain injury

Journal of neuroinflammation

Innate immunity can facilitate early brain injury (EBI) following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Numerous studies suggest that pyroptosis could exacerbate extracellular immune responses by promoting secretion of inflammatory cytokines. Transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) is a quintessential kinase that positively regulates inflammation through NF-κB and MAPK signaling cascades. However, the effects of TAK1 on neuroinflammation in EBI following SAH are largely unknown.Two hundred and forty-six male C57BL/6J mice were subjected to the endovascular perforation model of SAH. A selective TAK1 inhibitor, 5Z-7-oxozeaenol (OZ) was administered by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v) injection at 30 min after SAH induction. To genetic knockdown of TAK1, small interfering RNA (siRNA) was i.c.v injected at 48 h before SAH induction. SAH grade, brain water content, BBB permeability, neurological score, western blot, real-time PCR, ELISA, transmission electron microscope, and immunofluorescence staining were performed. Long-term behavioral sequelae were evaluated by the rotarod and Morris water maze tests. Furthermore, OZ was added to the culture medium with oxyhemoglobin (OxyHb) to mimic SAH in vitro. The reactive oxygen species level was detected by DCFH-DA staining. Lysosomal integrity was assessed by Lyso-Tracker Red staining and Acridine Orange staining.The neuronal phosphorylated TAK1 expression was upregulated following SAH. Pharmacologic inhibition of TAK1 with OZ could alleviate neurological deficits, brain edema, and brain-blood barrier (BBB) disruption at 24 h after SAH. In addition, OZ administration restored long-term neurobehavioral function. Furthermore, blockade of TAK1 dampened neuronal pyroptosis by downregulating the N-terminal fragment of GSDMD (GSDMD-N) expression and IL-1β/IL-18 production. Mechanistically, both in vivo and in vitro, we demonstrated that TAK1 can induce neuronal pyroptosis through promoting nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 and activating nucleotide-binding oligomerization...

TAK1 mediates neuronal pyroptosis in early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage