MANF inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome activation by competitively binding to DDX3X in paraquat-stimulated alveolar macrophages

NLRP3 inflammasome activation in macrophages is involved in paraquat-induced acute lung injury (ALI). MANF exerts an inhibitory effect against inflammation and cell death. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of MANF in paraquat-stimulated alveolar macrophages and the potential mechanism. Paraquat-induced ALI mouse model was established by intraperitoneally injection of 30 mg/kg of paraquat. The lung pathological changes were observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The expression of MANF/DDX3X/NLRP3/Caspase-1 in mice lung macrophages was evaluated by double immunofluorescence staining and western blot. NLRP3 inflammasome activation and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and IL-18) in paraquat-stimulated macrophage transfected with MANF overexpression plasmid (pcDNA3.1-MANF) or siRNA-MANF were measured by Western blot. The protein–protein interaction of MANF/DDX3X/NLRP3 was verified by Co-immunoprecipitation. As a result, MANF/DDX3X/NLRP3/Caspase-1 were upregulated in alveolar macrophages of paraquat-induced ALI in mice. In paraquat-stimulated alveolar macrophages, upregulation of MANF and DDX3X were also observed, accompanied by NLRP3 inflammasome activation. In addition, overexpression of MANF inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation in paraquat-stimulated alveolar macrophages. In contrast, knockdown of MANF aggravated NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Co-immunoprecipitation results revealed that DDX3X could bind to MANF and NLRP3, but MANF could not bind to NLRP3 in paraquat-stimulated alveolar macrophages. Furthermore, Co-immunoprecipitation of truncated three fragments of DDX3X confirmed MANF can interact with the helicase core of DDX3X which is the binding site for NLRP3. Taken together, MANF exerted a protective effect against paraquat-induced cytotoxicity by inhibiting the NLRP3 inflammasome activation in macrophages via competitive binding to the helicase core of DDX3X.