Fig. 5.

Ethyl pyruvate specifically inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome activation in septic mice. Representative DCX immunofluorescence in the DG areas (a) and Iba-1 immunohistochemical in the CA1 areas (b) of sham groups, WT groups, Nlrp3^−/− groups and Asc^−/− groups on postoperative day 12. Scale bar = 50 μm for Iba1, and Scale bar =100 μm for DCX. c The levels of DCX in the hippocampus of septic mice in sham groups, WT groups, Nlrp3^−/− groups and Asc^−/− groups were assessed by Western-blot on postoperative day 12. d & e showing area percentage of activated microglia in the CA1 region and DCX positive cells in dentate genus (DG) of septic mice hippocampus in sham groups, WT groups, Nlrp3^−/− groups and Asc^−/− groups. Data presented as mean ± SEM (n ≥ 3 mice/ group) and compared by one-way ANOVA and post-hoc test, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001