Abstract: AIM: To study the mechanism of resveratrol inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation in rabbits with spinal cord injury.  METHODS: Fifty male Japanese big ear rabbits were randomly divided into 5 groups: blank control group (CON group), spinal cord injury model group (SCI group), low-dose resveratrol group (RSV(L) group), and resveratrol high-dose group (RSV(H) group), methylprednisolone group (MP group), 10 rabbits in each group. Spinal cord injury models were prepared in all four groups except the CON group. All groups received iv administration daily, and the same amount of normal saline was given to the CON group and the SCI group for 14 consecutive days. The Tarlov method was used to evaluate the neurobehavioral score in rabbits. The chromogenic substrate method was used to determine the MDA content and the activity of SOD and GSH-Px in spinal cord tissues. Western blot was used to determine the proteins expression of NLRP3, Caspase1 p20, IL-1β, Sirt1, NF-κB p65 in spinal cord neural tissues, HE staining to observe the pathological changes of spinal cord tissue. RESULTS: Resveratrol increased the behavioral score of spinal cord injury rabbits, promoted the repair of injured tissues, reduced the MDA content, increased the activity of SOD and GSH-Px in spinal cord tissues, down-regulated the expression of NF-κB p65, up-regulated the expression of Sirt1 in spinal cord tissues, and inhibited expression of NLRP3 in inflammasome (reduction in expression of NLRP3, Caspase1 p20, and IL-1β in spinal cord tissues). CONCLUSION: Resveratrol can promote the recovery of spinal cord injury rabbits, and its mechanism may play a role by activating Sirt1, regulating NF-κB pathway and antioxidant level in vivo, and further inhibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome.

Key words: resveratrol, spinal cord injury, NLRP3 inflammatory bodies, oxidative system, silent information regulator 1