Lu Jiayuan, Dai Xinwen, Xi Siyu, Wang Bo, Zhang Peng, Fu Xueyan, Liu Juan, Zhang Yiwei
School of Basic Medical Sciences, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
Key Laboratory of Ningxia Ethnomedicine Modernization, Minority of Education, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2025 Jul 25;16:1601873. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1601873. eCollection 2025.
BACKGROUND: Ischemic stroke (IS) is a prevalent form of stroke and marked by high rates of morbidity, disability, and mortality. IS greatly threatens the physical health of people around the world. Oxidative stress triggered by IS can lead to inflammatory responses. Piperine (Pip) is a bioactive dietary phytochemical known for its pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and antioxidant effects. Pip has attracted considerable interest among researchers. This study aims to investigate whether Pip attenuates cerebral ischemic injury by regulating the Caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis pathway. METHODS: and experimental models were employed. For the simulation of cerebral ischemia, the rat permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) model was utilized. For the simulation, the BV-2 cells were subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). The recovery of neurological function in rats was assessed through multiple behavioral tests, including the Zea-Longa score, balance beam test, traverse beam test, forelimb grip pull test, postural reflex test, sensory test, and tail lifting test. Pathological changes in cerebral ischemic injury were observed using TTC staining, HE staining, and transmission electron microscopy. In and experiments, the potential protective mechanism of Pip in alleviating cerebral ischemic injury by regulating the Caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis pathway was investigated using Western blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assays. RESULTS: In the experiments, compared with the Sham group, the Model group exhibited significant neurological damage, increased infarct volume, brain tissue edema, and elevated protein and mRNA expression levels of pyroptosis-associated factors. By contrast, the Pip group demonstrated notable improvements in behavioral function, brain tissue morphology, and the expression levels of pyroptosis-related factors compared with the Model group. In the experiments, the protein and mRNA expression of pyroptosis-associated factors in the OGD group were significantly upregulated compared with that in the Con group. However, the expression of these factors in the OGD+Pip group was markedly reduced compared with that in the OGD group. Furthermore, when cells were treated with the Caspase-1 inhibitor Ac-YVAD-cmk, the results revealed a significant decrease in the protein expression of Caspase-1 and its downstream factors, GSDMD-N and IL-1β, compared with that in the OGD group. Notably, the protein expression of GSDMD-N and IL-1β in the Pip+Ac-YVAD-cmk group was significantly higher than in the Pip group, which suggests that the inhibition of Caspase-1 attenuated the suppressive effect of Pip on GSDMD-N and IL-1β expression. CONCLUSION: Pip exerts neuroprotective effects by modulating the Caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis pathway, which inhibits neuronal damage in the pMCAO model. These findings highlight the therapeutic potential of Pip in mitigating cerebral ischemic injury.
背景:缺血性中风(IS)是中风的一种常见形式,其发病率、致残率和死亡率都很高。IS严重威胁着世界各地人们的身体健康。IS引发的氧化应激可导致炎症反应。胡椒碱(Pip)是一种具有生物活性的膳食植物化学物质,以其药理特性而闻名,包括抗炎、抗肿瘤和抗氧化作用。Pip引起了研究人员的极大兴趣。本研究旨在探讨Pip是否通过调节半胱天冬酶-1介导的细胞焦亡途径减轻脑缺血损伤。 方法:采用动物实验模型和细胞实验模型。为模拟脑缺血,使用大鼠永久性大脑中动脉闭塞(pMCAO)模型。为进行细胞实验模拟,将BV-2细胞进行氧糖剥夺(OGD)处理。通过多种行为测试评估大鼠神经功能的恢复情况,包括Zea-Longa评分、平衡木试验、横梁试验、前肢握力试验、姿势反射试验、感觉试验和提尾试验。使用TTC染色、HE染色和透射电子显微镜观察脑缺血损伤的病理变化。在动物实验和细胞实验中,采用蛋白质免疫印迹法和逆转录-聚合酶链反应分析法研究Pip通过调节半胱天冬酶-1介导的细胞焦亡途径减轻脑缺血损伤的潜在保护机制。 结果:在动物实验中,与假手术组相比,模型组表现出明显的神经损伤、梗死体积增加、脑组织水肿以及细胞焦亡相关因子的蛋白质和mRNA表达水平升高。相比之下,与模型组相比,Pip组在行为功能、脑组织形态以及细胞焦亡相关因子的表达水平方面有显著改善。在细胞实验中,与对照组相比,OGD组细胞焦亡相关因子的蛋白质和mRNA表达显著上调。然而,与OGD组相比,OGD+Pip组这些因子的表达明显降低。此外,当用半胱天冬酶-1抑制剂Ac-YVAD-cmk处理细胞时,结果显示与OGD组相比,半胱天冬酶-1及其下游因子GSDMD-N和IL-1β的蛋白质表达显著降低。值得注意的是,Pip+Ac-YVAD-cmk组中GSDMD-N和IL-1β的蛋白质表达明显高于Pip组,这表明抑制半胱天冬酶-1减弱了Pip对GSDMD-N和IL-1β表达的抑制作用。 结论:Pip通过调节半胱天冬酶-1介导的细胞焦亡途径发挥神经保护作用,抑制pMCAO模型中的神经元损伤。这些发现突出了Pip在减轻脑缺血损伤方面的治疗潜力。
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