Inhibition of the interaction between microglial adenosine 2A receptor and NLRP3 inflammasome attenuates neuroinflammation posttraumatic brain injury

Abstract Aims Adenosine 2A receptor (A 2A R) is widely expressed in the brain and plays important roles in neuroinflammation, and the nucleotide‐binding oligomerization domain, leucine‐rich repeat, and pyrin domain‐containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is a crucial component of the innate immune system while the regulation of A 2A R on it in the central nervous system (CNS) has not been clarified. Methods The effects of microglial A 2A R on NLRP3 inflammasome assembly and activation were investigated in wild‐type, A 2A R‐ or NLRP3‐knockout primary microglia with pharmacological treatment. Microglial A 2A R or NLRP3 conditional knockout mice were used to interrogate the effects of this regulation on neuroinflammation posttraumatic brain injury (TBI). Results We found that A 2A R directly interacted with NLRP3 and facilitated NLRP3 inflammasome assembly and activation in primary microglia while having no effects on mRNA levels of inflammasome components. Inhibition of the interaction via A 2A R agonist or knockout attenuated inflammasome assembly and activation in vitro. In the TBI model, microglial A 2A R and NLRP3 were co‐expressed at high levels in microglia next to the peri‐injured cortex, and abrogating of this interaction by microglial NLRP3 or A 2A R conditional knockout attenuated the neurological deficits and neuropathology post‐TBI via reducing the NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Conclusion Our results demonstrated that inhibition of the interaction between A 2A R and NLRP3 in microglia could mitigate the NLRP3 inflammasome assembly and activation and ameliorate the neuroinflammation post‐TBI. It provides new insights into the effects of A 2A R on neuroinflammation regulation post‐TBI and offers a potential target for the treatment of NLRP3 inflammasome‐related CNS diseases.