Anxiolytic effects of NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition in a model of chronic sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivation is a form of stress that provokes both inflammatory responses and neuropsychiatric disorders. Because persistent inflammation is implicated as a physiological process in anxiety disorders, we investigated the contributions of NLRP3 inflammasome signaling to anxiety and anxiolytic properties of flavanol diets in a model of chronic sleep deprivation. The results show a flavanol-rich dietary preparation (FDP) exhibits anxiolytic properties by attenuating markers of neuroimmune activation, which included IL-1β upregulation, NLRP3 signaling, and microglia activation in the cortex and hippocampus of sleep-deprived mice. Production of IL-1β and NLRP3 were critical for both anxiety phenotypes and microglia activation. Individual FDP metabolites potently inhibited IL-1β production from microglia following stimulation with NLRP3-specific agonists, supporting anxiolytic properties of FDP observed in models of sleep deprivation involve inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome. The study further showed sleep deprivation alters the expression of the circadian gene Bmal1, which critically regulated NLRP3 expression and IL-1β production.