Deficiency of CD93 exacerbates inflammation-induced activation and migration of BV2 microglia by regulating the TAK1/NF-κB pathway

The role of CD93 in inflammatory response has been reported in multiple previous studies. However, the underlying mechanism of CD93 in microglial activation and migration during neuroinflammation post spinal cord injury (SCI) remains elusive. In the current study, we performed western blot, qRT-PCR, immunofluorescence analyses Transwell assay, and ELISA to determine the expression change and in-depth molecular mechanism of CD93 in microglia post inflammatory initiation. We found that CD93 expression was increased in microglia after SCI in vivo or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimuli in vitro. Additionally, CD93 interacted with TAK1 to inhibit NF-κB activation, thus attenuating inflammation and migration of microglia after treatment with LPS. These findings indicate that CD93 might participate in microglia-induced neuroinflammation development post SCI, suggesting that CD93 is a promising target for neuroimmunological regulation.