Journal: Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
Article Title: NF- κ B aggravates cardiac vascular endothelial injury by sustained activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome after ischemic stroke in rats
doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2026.1673693
Figure Lengend Snippet: Knockdown of p65 in vessels of the heart inhibits the activation of NF- κ B signaling pathway and the activation of vascular endothelial cells after dMCAO. (A) Design of experiments in which rats were injected with NF- κ B adeno-associated virus vectors in tail vein and subjected to either Sham or dMCAO. (B) Representative photomicrographs show the co-localization of GFP (green) and RECA-1 (red) in heart from dMCAO rats with AAV- shNF-κB injection. Scale bar: 25 μm. The degree of overlap between GFP and RECA-1 fluorescence based on the Pearson correlation coefficient in dMCAO 2 w rats. (C) Representative NeuN staining indicates the cortical infarction. Scale bar: 2 mm. (D) Quantitative analysis of the relative infarct volumes. Each bar represents the mean ± SD. * p < 0.05 vs. Sham group ( n = 6 in each group). (E) Western blotting shows the expression of p-p65 and p65 in vessels of the heart in the Sham and dMCAO rats injected with AAV-shCon or AAV- shNF-κB . (F,G) Quantitative analysis of p-p65 and p65 levels relative to GAPDH. Each bar represents the mean ± SD. * p < 0.05 vs. Sham group, # p < 0.05 vs. dMCAO 2 w + AAV-shCon group ( n = 4 in each group). (H) Western blotting shows the expression of NLRP3, ASC, Casp-1, VCAM-1, ICAM-1, IL-1β, and TNF-α in vessels of the heart in the Sham and dMCAO rats injected with AAV-shCon or AAV- shNF-κB . (I–O) Quantitative analysis of NLRP3, ASC, Casp-1, VCAM-1, ICAM-1, IL-1β, and TNF-α levels relative to GAPDH. Each bar represents the mean ± SD. * p < 0.05 vs. Sham group, # p < 0.05 vs. dMCAO 2 w + AAV-shCon group ( n = 4 in each group).Sham, sham operation; dMCAO, distal middle cerebral artery occlusion; GFP, green fluorescent protein; NLRP3, NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3; ASC, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD; Casp-1, caspase-1; Veh, Vehicle; RECA-1, rat endothelial cell antibody 1; VCAM-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1; ICAM-1, intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1; IL-1β, interleukin-1 beta; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-alpha; w, week.
Article Snippet: The NLRP3-selective inflammasome inhibitor MCC950 (MedChemExpress, HY-12815A), the NF- κ B p65 inhibitor PDTC (MedChemExpress, HY-18738), or the vehicle (normal saline, NS) was injected intraperitoneally 24 h before dMCAO.
Techniques: Knockdown, Activation Assay, Injection, Virus, Fluorescence, Staining, Western Blot, Expressing