miR-96-5p alleviates cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in mice by inhibiting pyroptosis via downregulating caspase 1

Ischemic stroke is one of the leading causes of global mortality and disability. Nevertheless, successful treatment remains limited. In this study, we investigated the efficacy and the mechanism of miR-96-5p in protecting acute ischemic brain injury in adult mice. Focal cerebral ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in adult male C57BL/6 mice. MiR-96-5p or the negative control was administered via intracerebroventricular injection. The expression of pyroptosis-related genes and activation of various resident cells in the brain was assessed by RT-qPCR, western blot, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence. Modified neurological severity score, rotarod test, cylinder test, brain water content, and cerebral infarction volume were used to evaluate the behavioral deficits and the severity of brain injury after MCAO. Flow cytometry, TUNEL staining, and Nissl staining were employed to assess the neuron damage. MiR-96-5p decreased markedly in the ischemic stroke model in vivo and in vitro. MiR-96-5p mimics suppressed the expression of caspase 1 and alleviated the apoptosis rate in OGD/R treatment N2a cells, however, the miR-96-5p inhibitor caused the opposite results. Intracerebroventricular delivery of miR-96-5p agomir significantly mitigated behavioral deficits, brain water content, and cerebral infarction volume after MCAO. In addition, treatment with miR-96-5p agomir downregulated the expression of caspase 1/cleaved caspase 1 and Gsdmd/Gsdmd-N, while alleviating the neuron damage. In summary, overexpression of miR-96-5p suppresses pyroptosis and reduces brain damage in the acute phase of ischemic stroke, providing new insight into the treatment of acute ischemic stroke.