Fig. 4

Knocking out TRPV1 attenuates the formation of NLRP3 inflammasome. a–c The graphical representation of the fold changes of NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1. Knocking out TRPV1 or pretreating with capsaicin reduced the upregulation of NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 compared to OGD group. n = 5 for each group. d Confocal images showed ASC specks increased after OGD, and knocking out TRPV1 or pretreating with capsaicin inhibited the increase of ASC specks compared to OGD group. White arrows indicate ASC specks and the scale bar = 10 μm, scale bar = 1 μm for the enlarged image. e ASC speck positive astrocytes percentage was determined in 10 fields/well and divided by the number of cells counterstained with DAPI. n = 4 for each group. f Confocal images showed that NLRP3 and caspase-1 were increased after OGD, and knocking out TRPV1 or pretreating with capsaicin inhibited their upregulation compared to OGD group. Scale bar = 10 μm. g, h The intensity of NLRP3 and caspase-1 fluorescence was determined in 10 fields/well and divided by the number of cells counterstained with DAPI. n = 4 for each group. i Pearson’s correlation coefficient is shown in the graph from the analysis of independent experiments. n = 4 for each group. Cap, 10 μM capsaicin. Average values represent the mean ± SEM. **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 versus control (Tukey’s test after one-way ANOVA). ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01 versus WT-OGD (Tukey’s test after one-way ANOVA)