Ferulic Acid Reduces Inflammatory Response Induced by Radiation through Sirt1-NLRP3 Pathway

Abstract

Background: A model of inflammatory damage was induced by radiation to investigate whether ferulic acid (FA) can reduce the inflammatory response through the Sirt1-NLRP3 inflammatory pathway. This will help discover radiation-protective drugs and elucidate the molecular mechanisms related to radiation-induced inflammatory damage. Methods: A mouse model of radiation-induced immunoinflammatory injury was established to verify the anti-inflammatory effects of FA in vivo. C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into six groups, and 5 Gy whole body irradiation was used for modeling. Mice were administered a gastric solvent, amifostine, or 25, 50, or 100 mg/kg FA daily for 12 d, consecutively, before irradiation. The serum of mice was collected 24 h after irradiation to observe the content of inflammatory factors interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-18, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. The spleen and thymus tissues of mice were weighed and the organ index was calculated for pathological testing and immunofluorescence detection. Results: FA reduced the radiation-induced decrease in the spleen and thymus indices. FA significantly reduced the secretion of inflammatory factors in the serum and reversed the radiation-induced reduction in lymphocytes in the spleen and thymus of mice. FA activated Sirt1 and inhibited the expression of the NLRP3 inflammasome to alleviate the inflammatory response. Conclusions: FA reduced radiation-induced inflammation in animals, possibly by activating Sirt1 and reducing nucleotide oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome expression, thereby reducing the secretion of inflammatory factors.