Zinc Promotes Spinal Cord Injury Recovery by Blocking the Activation of NLRP3 Inflammasome Through SIRT3-Mediated Autophagy

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are complex and cause complex neurological disorders with serious implications for the health of society. Excessive neuroinflammation is one of the pathogenesis of trauma-related central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction. The initiation of inflammatory response mainly stems from neuronal necrosis in the central nervous system. The therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of zinc targeting neurons were investigated in vivo and in vitro using protein chips, western blotting, reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity assays, ELISA, RT-qPCR, and immunostaining. In this study, we found that zinc promotes functional recovery. Specifically, we found that zinc increased neuronal survival and suppressed lesion size and focal apoptosis levels in vivo. Zinc administration confers neuroprotection by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome-associated cytokine levels probed with a protein chip. Furthermore, we found that zinc promoted SIRT3-mediated induction of autophagy, which abrogated inflammatory responses and mitochondrial ROS production in the injured spinal cord and cultured neurons. These findings suggest that zinc improves neuroinflammation and improves dyskinesia after SCI. In conclusion, zinc may be a potential therapeutic immunomodulatory challenge for the treatment of trauma-related CNS dysfunction.Graphical Abstract