NLRP3 Inflammasome-Targeting Nanomicelles for Preventing Ischemia–Reperfusion-Induced Inflammatory Injury

Ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury is a disease process that affects several vital organs. There is widespread agreement that the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway plays a crucial role in the development of I/R injury. We have developed transferrin-conjugated, pH-responsive nanomicelles for the entrapment of MCC950 drug. These nanomicelles specifically bind to the transferrin receptor 1 (TFR1) expressed on the cells of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and thus help the cargo to cross the BBB. Furthermore, the therapeutic potential of nanomicelles was assessed using in vitro, in ovo, and in vivo models of I/R injury. Nanomicelles were injected into the common carotid artery (CCA) of a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat model to achieve maximum accretion of nanomicelles into the brain as blood flows toward the brain in the CCA. The current study reveals that the treatment with nanomicelles significantly alleviates the levels of NLRP3 inflammasome biomarkers which were found to be increased in oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD)-treated SH-SY5Y cells, the I/R-damaged right vitelline artery (RVA) of chick embryos, and the MCAO rat model. The supplementation with nanomicelles significantly enhanced the overall survival of MCAO rats. Overall, nanomicelles exerted therapeutic effects against I/R injury, which might be due to the suppression of the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome.