Effect of curcumin on cell pyroptosis in lung injury rats caused by acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoning via regulating the NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD signaling pathway
LI Shoupeng
JIE Fengying
Abstract：Objective To investigate the effect of curcumin on cell pyroptosis in lung injury rats caused by acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoning(AOPP)via regulating the Nod like receptor protein 3(NLRP3)/caspase-1/gasdermin D(GSDMD)signaling pathway.Methods A total of 72 Sprague Dawley(SD)rats were randomly assigned into the control group,AOPP group,low-dose,medium-dose,and high-dose curcumin groups,and positive control group(dexamethasone)using a random number table method,with 12 rats per group.Except for those in the control group,the AOPP rat model was created by gavage of omethoate,and the corresponding drugs were given by oral gavage and intraperitoneal injection once a day for 4 consecutive weeks.The hematoxylin and eosin(H&E)staining was applied to observe pathological damages in the lung tissue.The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end-labeling(TUNEL)staining was applied to detect cell pyroptosis in the lung tissue.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was applied to detect serum levels of interleuk in-18(IL-18)and IL-1 β.Immunohistochemical staining was applied to detect the protein expression of NLRP3.Reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR)was applied to detect the mRNA levels of NLRP3,GSDMD,apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain(ASC)and cleaved caspase-1 in the lung tissue.Protein expressions of GSDMD,ASC,and cleaved Caspase-1 in the lung tissue were detected by Western blot.Results Compared with those of the control group,the cell pyroptosis rate,inflammatory factors IL-18 and IL-1βlevels,and mRNA and protein levels of ASC,NLRP3 and cleaved Caspase-1,GSDMD in rat lung tissue significantly increased in AOPP group(P＜0.05).Compared with those of AOPP group,the cell pyroptosis rate,inflammatory factors IL-18 and IL-1β,and mRNA and protein levels of NLRP3,ASC,GSDMD,and cleaved Caspase-1 in rat lung tissue of low-dose,medium-dose,and high-dose curcumin groups and the positive control group were significantly reduced(P＜0.05).Conclusion Curcumin can effectively alleviate AOPP-induced lung injury in rats by inhibiting the activation of the NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD signaling pathway,thereby inhibiting cell pyroptosis in the lung tissue.
Keywords：curcuminNod like receptor protein 3(NLRP3)/caspase-1/gasdermin D(GSDMD)acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoninglung injurypyroptosis
Publication Date：2025-02-28
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 207-211 )