Nanocurcumin attenuates pyroptosis and inflammation through inhibiting NF‐κB/GSDMD signal in high altitude‐associated acute liver injury

Abstract Exposure to a hypobaric hypoxic environment at high altitudes can lead to liver injury, and mounting evidence indicates that pyroptosis and inflammation play important roles in liver injury. Curcumin (Cur) can inhibit pyroptosis and inflammation. Therefore, our purpose here was to clarify the mechanism underlying the protective effect of nanocurcumin (Ncur) and Cur in a rat model of high altitude‐associated acute liver injury. Eighty healthy rats were selected and exposed to different altitudes (6000 or 7000 m) for 0, 24, 48, or 72 h. Fifty normal healthy rats were divided into normal control, high‐altitude control, salidroside (40 mg/kg [Sal‐40]), Cur (200 mg/kg [Cur‐200]), and Ncur (25 mg/kg [Ncur‐25]) groups and exposed to a high‐altitude hypobaric hypoxic environment (48 h, 7000 m). Serum‐liver enzyme activities (alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, and lactate dehydrogenase were detected and histopathology of liver injury was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin staining, and inflammatory factors were detected in liver tissues by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays. Pyroptosis‐associated proteins (gasdermin D, gasdermin D N‐terminal [GSDMD‐N], pro‐Caspase‐1, and cleaved‐Caspase‐1 [cleaved‐Casp1]) and inflammation‐associated proteins (nuclear factor‐κB [NF‐κB], phospho‐NF‐κB [P‐NF‐κB], and high‐mobility group protein B1 [HMGB1]) levels were analyzed by immunoblotting. Ncur and Cur inhibited increased serum‐liver enzyme activities, alleviated liver injury in rats caused by high‐altitude hypobaric hypoxic exposure, and downregulated inflammatory factors, including tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐6, and IL‐18, in rat liver tissues. The level of P‐NF‐κB, GSDMD‐N, cleaved‐Casp1, and HMGB1 in rat liver tissues increased significantly after high‐altitude exposure. Ncur and Cur downregulated P‐NF‐κB, GSDMD‐N, cleaved‐Casp‐1, and HMGB1. Ncur and Cur may inhibit inflammatory responses and pyroptosis in a rat model of high altitude‐associated acute liver injury.