Rottlerin inhibits PKCδ to attenuate pulmonary fibrosis by suppressing NLRC4/ASC-mediated pyroptosis

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a progressive and fatal lung disease with limited treatment options. Targeting the underlying inflammatory and cell death mechanisms holds promise for developing novel therapies. Rottlerin, a natural polyphenolic compound with known anti-inflammatory properties, has not been explored as a potential treatment option for PF.

We utilized TGF-β1-induced PF cell models, a bleomycin-induced PF mouse model, and an LPS + flagellin-induced NLRC4 pyroptosis model to investigate the therapeutic potential of Rottlerin against PF and elucidate its mechanism of action.

We demonstrate that Rottlerin effectively attenuates PF-associated markers and symptoms in both in vitro and in vivo models. In TGF-β1-induced PF cell models with A549 and BEAS-2B cells, Rottlerin inhibited fibrotic marker expression and collagen overproduction. In a bleomycin-induced PF mouse model, Rottlerin significantly improved lung pathology, reduced inflammation and collagen deposition, and alleviated disease-associated weight loss. Mechanistically, PKCδ was identified as a direct target of Rottlerin. Rottlerin binding to PKCδ inhibited NLRC4 phosphorylation and subsequent activation of the NLRC4/ASC inflammasome, leading to reduced release of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18. Activation of PKCδ in vitro reversed the anti-pyroptotic effects of Rottlerin, confirming the crucial role of this pathway.

Our findings reveal that Rottlerin alleviates PF by targeting PKCδ to suppress NLRC4/ASC-mediated pyroptosis and inflammation. This study innovatively focused on the anti-pulmonary fibrosis strategy targeting the PKCδ-NLRC4 axis, revealed an important link in the inflammation-fibrosis transition, provided evidence on Rottlerin's anti-fibrotic effects and identifies a novel therapeutic strategy for PF.