Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell Exosome Attenuates Inflammasome-Related Pyroptosis via Delivering circ_003564 to Improve the Recovery of Spinal Cord Injury

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) is previously reported to present a certain effect on treating spinal cord injury (SCI), while the underlying mechanism is largely uncovered. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the involvement of exosome-delivered circRNA profile in the BMSC's effect on pyroptosis for SCI treatment. H₂O₂ treated rat primary neurons were cultured with normal medium, BMSC, BMSC plus GW4869, and BMSC-derived exosome, respectively, then inflammasome-related pyroptosis markers, and circRNA profiles were detected. Subsequently, circ_003564-knockdown BMSC exosome was transfected into H₂O₂ treated rat primary neurons and NGF-stimulated PC-12 cells. Furthermore, in vivo validation was conducted. BMSC and BMSC-derived exosome both decreased inflammasome-related pyroptosis markers including cleaved caspase-1, GSDMD, NLRP3, IL-1β, and IL-18 in H₂O₂-treated neurons, while exosome-free BMSC (BMSC plus GW4869) did not obviously reduce these factors. Microarray assay revealed that BMSC (vs. exosome-free BMSC) and BMSC-derived exosome (vs. normal medium) greatly regulated circRNA profiles, which were enriched in neuroinflammation pathways (such as neurotrophin, apoptosis, and TNF). Among three functional candidate circRNAs (circ_015525, circ_008876, and circ_003564), circ_003564 was most effective to regulate inflammasome-related pyroptosis. Interestingly, circ_003564-knockdown BMSC exosome showed higher expression of inflammasome-related pyroptosis markers compared to negative-control-knockdown BMSC exosome in H₂O₂ treated primary neurons/NGF-stimulated PC-12 cells. In vivo, BMSC exosome improved the function recovery and decreased tissue injury and inflammasome-related pyroptosis in SCI rats, whose effect was attenuated by circ_003564 knockdown transfection. BMSC exosome attenuates inflammasome-related pyroptosis via delivering circ_003564, contributing to its treatment efficacy for SCI.