Knockdown of TRAP1 decreases inflammatory reaction in activated astrocytes primary mouse astrocytes were infected with recombinant lentivirus containing TRAP‐shRNA and ctrl‐shRNA sequence, for 72 h, respectively. And then, astrocytes were incubated in a serum‐free medium overnight followed by IL‐17 (50 ng/ml) treatment for 6 h. (a) Western blot assay was utilized to measure the protein level of TRAP1, Smad4, p‐Smad2/3, and Smad2/3. (b) Co‐immunoprecipitation (co‐IP) assay was designed to determine the interaction of TRAP1 with Smad4. (c) The mRNA levels of TNF‐α, CXCL10, and MCP‐1 in astrocytes were detected by real‐time PCR assay. (d) The secretion levels of TNF‐α, MCP‐1, and CXCL10 in the supernatant of astrocytes were tested by ELISA. The data are from three independent experiments and represented as mean ± SEM. **p < .01 and ***p < .001 versus no IL‐17 group; #
p < .05, ##
p < .01, and ###
p < .001 versus ctrl‐shRNA + IL‐17 group (n = 3)