Intracerebroventricular calycosin attenuates cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats via HMGB1-dependent pyroptosis inhibition

Calycosin significantly reduced neurological impairments and brain infarction in a dose-dependent manner, alleviated neuronal damage and decreased the expression of pyroptosis-related markers, including NLRP3, GSDMD, HMGB1, IL-1β, IL-18, and caspase-1. These results indicate that calycosin enhances microglial cell survival and mitigates pyroptotic damage by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation, suggesting its potential as a neuroprotective therapy for ischemic stroke through the modulation of the HMGB1-dependent pyroptosis pathway.