VX-765 prevents intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome

•VX-765 pretreatment may prevent the occurrence of oxidative damage during IIRI.•VX-765 pretreatment may prevent inflammatory responses during IIRI.•VX-765 may prevent IIRI presumably by inhibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome. Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IIRI) is a common clinical event that can cause serious consequences. The study aimed to investigated the effect of VX-765 in IIRI and its mechanism. The hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) cell model and IIRI mouse model were generated to examine the in vitro and in vivo effects of VX-765 on IIRI. IIRI was evaluated by histological assessment. ELISA was performed to determine the levels of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, caspase-1, and GSDMD in intestinal tissues as well as the levels of MDA, SOD, CAT, caspase-1, and GSDMD in Caco-2 cells. Relative protein levels of NLRP3, ASC, IL-18, IL-1β, cleaved Caspase1, and GSDMD-N were analyzed by Western blotting. CCK-8 Assay was conducted to determine the optimal concentration of VX-765 for the in vitro studies. Flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy and real-time PCR (RT-PCR) were used to assess ROS levels and the mRNA levels of IL-18 and IL-1β, respectively. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to examine the subcellular localization of P65 and NLRP3. VX-765 reduced IIRI-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory response both in vivo and in vitro, while it decreased the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β as well as the modified Park/Chiu scores. The optimal concentration of VX-765 for the in vitro studies was 10 μM. Moreover, VX-765 inhibited the nuclear translocation of P65, reduced oxidative stress and down-regulated the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome. VX-765 prevents IIRI presumably by inhibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome.