title: Increased Expression of NLRP3 Inflammasome in Wall of Ruptured and Unruptured Human Cerebral Aneurysms: Preliminary Results.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A growing body of evidence suggests that inflammation actively participates in cerebral aneurysm initiation, progression, and rupture. The primary objective of this study was to assess the expression of NLR family, Pyrin-domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in human cerebral aneurysms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Aneurysmal domes (19 ruptured and 17 unruptured) from patients undergoing surgical treatment for ruptured or unruptured cerebral aneurysms were analyzed. A control sample comprising 4 middle cerebral arteries was obtained from autopsy subjects. The expression of NLRP3, apoptotic speck-containing protein with a card (ASC), caspase-1, and interleukin (IL)-1β were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Immunofluorescence double staining was used to determine NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 cellular distribution.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Expression of NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 were more abundant in ruptured aneurysm tissue than that in unruptured aneurysms, based on a semi-quantitative grading (P < .05). IL-1β was also overexpressed in the ruptured cerebral aneurysms and associated with increased expression of NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 (P < .05). Furthermore, NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 immunoreactivity were colocalized with immunoreactivity of CD3 in T lymphocytes and CD68 in macrophages.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NLRP3 inflammasome was expressed in the wall of human cerebral aneurysms and was more abundant in ruptured aneurysms than in unruptured. This study raises the possibility that NLRP3 inflammasome may be involved in the pathogenesis of human intracranial aneurysms, and this requires further study.
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, PR China.
authors: Dingding
authors: D
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, PR China.
authors: Huiying
authors: H
authors: Yan
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, PR China.
authors: Yangchun
authors: Y
authors: Hu
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, PR China.
authors: Zong
authors: Z
authors: Zhuang
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, PR China.
authors: Zhuang
authors: Z
authors: Yu
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, PR China. Electronic address: hang_neurosurgery@163.com.
authors: Chunhua
authors: C
authors: Hang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017542:Aneurysm, Ruptured / Q000473:pathology*; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism; D053468:CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D020170:Caspase 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000378:metabolism; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020768:Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000378:metabolism*; D000071199:NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D053468:CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D000071199:NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; C453881:NLRP3 protein, human; C402202:PYCARD protein, human; D020170:Caspase 1
keywords: Cerebral aneurysms; IL-1β; NLRP3 inflammasome; Ruptured; Unruptured