ABSTRACT
Background: Pyroptosis, inflammation-related programed cell death mediated by NLRP3 inflammasome, is involved in the pathogenesis of cerebral hypoxic-ischemic injury. Our study aims to explore the biological role of growth differentiation factor (GDF)15 in oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R)-induced neuronal pyroptosis. Methods: HT22 neurons were subjected to OGD/R to simulate cerebral hypoxic-ischemic injury. Cells were transfected with plasmids to overexpress GDF15, or lentiviral-based shRNAs constructs to silence GDF15. ELISA assay was used to detect GDF15, IL-1ß, IL-18, and neuron specific enolase (NSE) levels. Cell pyroptosis was measured by flow cytometery. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay was used to detect interaction of H3K27ac with GDF15 promoter. GDF15, NLRP3, Caspase-1 p20 and GSDMD-N expressions were measured by Western blotting. Results: Patients with malignant middle cerebral artery infarction showed decreased GDF15, but increased IL-1ß, IL-18, and NSE levels in serum compared to healthy controls. OGD/R treatment caused significant increases in the levels of IL-1ß, IL-18 and NSE, percentages of pyroptotic cells, and expressions of NLRP3, Caspase-1 p20, and GSDMD in HT22 cells, which were markedly reversed by GDF15 overexpression. However, GDF15 knockdown resulted in neuronal injury similar to those observed in OGD/R treatment. The GDF15 knockdown-induced effects were counteracted by treatment with NLRP3 inhibitor. OGD/R decreased the enrichment of H3K27ac in the promoter of GDF15 to down-regulate GDF15, but was compromised by co-treatment with HDAC2 inhibitor. Conclusion: Our data demonstrates that GDF15 attenuates OGD/R-induced pyroptosis through NLRP3 inflammasome. HDAC2 is involved in mediating OGD-induced GDF15 down-regulation via H3K27ac modification. GDF15 overexpression and HDAC2 inhibition hold potential as useful therapeutic strategies for neuroprotection.