Autophagy protein NRBF2 attenuates endoplasmic reticulum stress-associated neuroinflammation and oxidative stress via promoting autophagosome maturation by interacting with Rab7 after SAH

BACKGROUND: Neuroinflammation and oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of early brain injury (EBI) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). This study is the first to show that activation of autophagy protein nuclear receptor binding factor 2 (NRBF2) could reduce endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)-associated inflammation and oxidative stress after SAH. METHODS: Male C57BL/6J mice were subjected to endovascular perforation to establish a model of SAH. NRBF2 overexpression adeno-associated virus (AAV), NRBF2 small interfering RNAs (siRNA), lysosomal inhibitor-chloroquine (CQ), and late endosome GTPase Rab7 receptor antagonist-CID1067700 (CID) were used to investigate the role of NRBF2 in EBI after SAH. Neurological tests, brain water content, western blotting and immunofluorescence staining were evaluated. RESULTS: Our study found that the level of NRBF2 was increased after SAH and peaked at 24 h after SAH. In addition, we found that the overexpression of NRBF2 significantly improved neurobehavioral scores and reduced ERS, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation in SAH, whereas the inhibition of NRBF2 exacerbated these phenotypes. In terms of mechanism, NRBF2 overexpression significantly promoted autophagosome maturation, with the downregulation of CHOP, Romo-1, TXNIP, NLRP3, TNF-α, and IL-1β expression through interaction with Rab7. The protective effect of NRBF2 on ERS-associated neuroinflammation and oxidative stress after SAH was eliminated by treatment with CQ. Meanwhile, it was also reversed by intraperitoneal injection of CID. Moreover, the MIT domain of NRBF2 was identified as a critical binding site that interacts with Rab7 and thereby promotes autophagosome maturation. CONCLUSION: Our data provide evidence that the autophagy protein NRBF2 has a protective effect on endoplasmic reticulum stress-associated neuroinflammation and oxidative stress by promoting autophagosome maturation through interactions with Rab7 after SAH. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12974-021-02270-4.