Inhibition of perilipin 2 attenuates cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by blocking NLRP3 inflammasome activation both in vivo and in vitro

Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (CI/R) usually causes neuroinflammation within the central nervous system, further prompting irreversible cerebral dysfunction. Perilipin 2 (Plin2), a lipid droplet protein, has been reported to exacerbate the pathological process in different diseases, including inflammatory responses. However, the role and mechanism of Plin2 in CI/R injury are unclear. In this study, the rat models of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion followed by reperfusion (tMCAO/R) were established to mimic I/R injury, and we found that Plin2 was highly expressed in the ischemic penumbra of tMCAO/R rats. The siRNA-mediated knockdown of Plin2 significantly decreased neurological deficit scores and reduced infarct areas in rats induced by I/R. Detailed investigation showed that Plin2 deficiency alleviated inflammation of tMCAO/R rats as evidenced by reduced secretion of proinflammatory factors and the blockade of NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation. In vitro experiments showed that Plin2 expression was upregulated in mouse microglia subjected to oxygen–glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R). Plin2 knockdown inhibited OGD/R-induced microglia activation and the accumulation of inflammation-related factors. Taken together, this study demonstrates that lipid droplet protein Plin2 contributes to the pathologic process of CI/R damage by impacting inflammatory response and NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Thus, Plin2 may provide a new therapeutic direction for CI/R injury.