Effect of atorvastatin on neuronal pyroptosis in rats after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury

CAO Yu; XING Dan

doi:10.13798/j.issn.1009-153X.2024.02.007

Abstract：Objective To investigate the effect of atorvastatin(AVT)on neuronal pyroptosis in rats after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion(CIR)injury and the underlying mechanisms.Methods Sixty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham group,CIR group,atorvastatin group(AVT group)and miR-21 inhibitor group,with 15 rats in each group.The CIR model was established by thread embolism method.The rats in the AVT group were given AVT[10 mg/(kg·d)]by gavage at 2 and 14 h after ischemia,the rats in the sham group were given the same amount of saline by gavage,and the rats in the miR-21 inhibitor group received intracerebral injection of virus solution(1010 pfu/rat)for 3 days before ischemia and then given AVT by gavage at 2 and 14 h after ischemia.One week after CIR,the neurological dysfunction score was evaluated by Longa method,the water content of brain tissues was measured by dry-wet weight method,the morphological changes of hippocampal tissues were observed by HE staining,the expressions of miR-21 and pyroptosis-related proteins(Caspase-1,GSDMD,IL-1β and IL-18)in hippocampal tissues were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blotting,respectively.Results Compared with the CIR group,the neurological function score was significantly improved(P<0.01),the water content of brain tissues was significantly decreased(P<0.01),the expression level of miR-21 was significantly increased(P<0.01),and the expression levels of pyroptosis-related proteins were significantly decreased in the AVT group(P<0.01).Compared with the AVT group,the above effects were significantly reversed in the miR-21 inhibitor group(P<0.05).Conclusions AVT can improve the neurological function of CIR rats,and the mechanism may be related to up-regulating the expression of miR-21 and inhibiting neuronal pyroptosis.