Abstract
Sevoflurane (Sev) anesthesia is associated with cognitive deficits and neurotoxicity. This study explores the epigenetic mechanism of SET domain containing 1B (SETD1B) in Sev-induced cognitive impairment in neonatal mice. Neonatal mice (C57BL/6, n = 72) were exposed to 3% Sev for 2 h per day at P6, 7, and 8, and the control neonatal mice were only separated from the mother for 2 h. The mice were divided into groups of 12 individuals, with an equal number of male and female mice in each group. Mice were intraperitoneally injected with adenovirus-packaged SETD1B overexpression vector. Behavioral tests (Morris water maze, open field test, T-maze, novel object recognition, etc.) were performed at P30. Mouse hippocampal neuronal cells were cultured in vitro. SETD1B, C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4), NLR family pyrin domain containing 1 (NLRP1), Cleaved Caspase1, and GSDMD-N expressions in hippocampal tissues or cells were determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. SETD1B and histone H3 lysine 4 methylation (H3K4me1, H3K4me2, and H3K4me3) enrichment on the CXCR4 promoter was analyzed by ChIP. Sev insulted cognitive impairment and diminished SETD1B expression in mouse hippocampal tissues. SETD1B overexpression mitigated cognitive impairment, enhanced H3K4me3 levels in hippocampal tissues, and restrained hippocampal neuronal pyroptosis. SETD1B increased CXCR4 expression by elevating the H3K4me3 level on the CXCR4 promoter, thereby curbing NLRP1/Caspase1-mediated hippocampal neuronal pyroptosis. To conclude, SETD1B enhances CXCR4 expression by elevating the H3K4me3 level on the CXCR4 promoter, thereby suppressing NLRP1/Caspase1-triggered hippocampal neuronal pyroptosis and alleviating Sev-induced cognitive impairment in neonatal mice.