Correction clarifies brain images in study linking NLRP3 loss to better recovery after head injury

Why it matters: Traumatic brain injury triggers inflammation that can worsen damage well after the initial impact. The NLRP3 inflammasome, an innate immune complex, is a candidate drug target. The original paper argued that removing NLRP3 improves recovery in mice. Accurate figures matter because the histology images are central evidence for that claim.

What the correction does: The authors report that Figures 3B, 3D, 5B, 5D, 5G and 5I were erroneously labeled in the source file. They provide corrected panels and full captions. A second fix concerns an author's name, which was written in reversed order (Cosentino Francesca instead of Francesca Cosentino). The original article has been updated. The notice does not describe any change to the underlying experiments, data analysis or conclusions.

What the corrected captions show: Figure 3 covers wild-type (WT) mice 24 hours after TBI. Sham animals show normal cortex and hippocampus. Injured WT mice show hemorrhage and edema at the impact site. In the hippocampus, the CA1 region shows lost architecture and shrunken neurons, and CA3 shows diffuse neuronal loss and eosinophilic (damaged) neurons. WT mice given BAY 11-7082, an inhibitor of the NLRP3 pathway, are described as having a more preserved CA1 and stratus lacunosum moleculare, without hemorrhage or edema, and only slight CA3 neuronal loss.

Figure 5 compares WT and NLRP3-knockout mice 7 days after TBI. WT mice still show cortical hemorrhage and edema, partial restoration of CA1, and CA3 neuronal loss. NLRP3-knockout mice show preserved CA1 architecture with few shrunken neurons and no hemorrhage or edema there, and an almost normal stratus lacunosum moleculare. CA3 neuronal loss and eosinophilic neurons still appear in knockouts. A cumulative histological score at 7 days differed between groups (p < 0.05 vs WT-TBI; seven animals per group).

Implications and caveats: The corrections support the integrity of the published record and are consistent with the original conclusion that NLRP3 deficiency or inhibition is associated with less tissue damage. They do not add new evidence. The findings are preclinical, from mice, and rely on qualitative, representative images plus a semi-quantitative score. Cortical injury at the impact site appears similar even in knockouts, and some hippocampal neuronal loss persists. Clinical translation is unproven.