Acupuncture Treatment Alleviating Pyroptosis on Asthma Inflammation in Mice via Micro-RNA-223/NLRP3 Pathway

Evidence has shown that acupuncture treatment could significantly reduce the activation inflammation in asthmatic mice. However, the underlying mechanism through which acupuncture influences asthma has not yet been elucidated.

OVA-induced asthma in NLRP3^‒/‒ and wild-type C57BL mice, and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induced inflammation in 16HBE cell were established in vivo and in vitro. H&E, Masson, and Sirius staining, along with ELISA kits, Western Blot, PCR, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence techniques were employed to assess the miR-223/NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis pathway in mitigating asthma-induced inflammation.

In vitro, acupuncture treatment alleviated airway inflammation in asthmatic mice, upregulated miR-223 expression, inhibited the genes and proteins expression level in NLRP3 pathway, such as NLRP3, GSDMD, ASC, and Caspase-1, it also lowered the presence of cytokines tied to T cells. Activation of the NLRP3 pathway seemed to make asthma symptoms worse, whereas acupuncture treatment effectively alleviated the inflammation by modulating the miR-223/NLRP3 pathway. In vivo, after upregulating or downregulating miR-223 expression in an LPS-induced cell inflammation model, the expression levels of the NLRP3 pathway changed significantly. The dual-luciferase assay revealed the specific interaction of miR-223 to the NLRP3 gene, thereby suppressing its transcription.

miR-223-3p can bind to NLRP3 and suppresses the expression of NLRP3 gene. Acupuncture treatment can activate miR-223/NLRP3-related pyroptosis pathway to regulate T-lymphocyte immunity and effectively reduce airway inflammation in asthmatic mice.