Pyruvate maintains and enhances the pro-inflammatory response of microglia caused by glucose deficiency in early stroke

Pro-inflammatory microglia mainly rely on glycolysis to maintain cytokine production during ischemia, accompanied by an increase in inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1). The role of energy metabolism in the pro-inflammatory response of microglia is currently unclear. In this study, we tested the response of microglia in mice after cerebral ischemia and simulated an energy environment in vitro using low glucose culture medium. The research results indicate that the expression levels of iNOS and arginase 1 (ARG1) increase in the ischemic mouse brain, but the upregulation of MCT1 expression is mainly present in iNOS positive microglia. In microglia exposed to low glucose conditions, iNOS and MCT1 levels increased, while ARG1 levels decreased. Under the same conditions, knocking down MCT1 in microglia leads to a decrease in iNOS levels, while overexpression of MCT1 leads to the opposite result. The use of NF-κB inhibitors reduced the expression levels of iNOS and MCT1 in microglia. In summary, our data indicate that pyruvate maintains and enhances the NF-κB regulated pro-inflammatory response of microglia induced by low glucose.