Fig. 5

C/EBPβ knockdown attenuated neuropathic pain by regulating Clec7a-NLRP3 induced pyroptosis in vivo. A Timeline schematic of experimental paradigm. B The decreased expression of C/EBPβ significantly ameliorated mechanical withdrawal threshold in CCI rat model (n = 5–10 rats/group). C Intrathecally administration of Cebpb siRNA significantly reduced the expression of C/EBPβ, Clec7a, pyroptosis-related proteins (NLRP3, GSDMD) and pSyk, pERK, pJNK in ipsilateral spinal cord of CCI rats on postoperative day 10 (n = 3 independent blots). D Immunohistochemical detection of C/EBPβ and Clec7a in ipsilateral SC of CCI rats after si-Cebpb administration (n = 6 rats/group, 1 section/rat). White arrows point to C/EBPβ- or Clec7a-positive cells, respectively. Scale bar: 100 μm (20 ×); 50 μm (40 ×). Data are presented as mean ± SEM. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test was used to analyze data at different time points B. One-way ANOVA was used to analyze data among multiple groups followed by Tukey’s post hoc test for equal variances or Dunnett T3 post hoc test for unequal variances C–D. ^*P < 0.05, ^**P < 0.01, ^***P < 0.001 compared with the Sham group; ^##P < 0.01, ^###P < 0.001 compared with sham + si-NC group; ^△P < 0.05, ^△△P < 0.01, ^△△△P < 0.001 compared with CCI + si-NC group