Cell Death Dis. 2026 Jul 27. pii: 899. [Epub ahead of print]17(1):
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) elicits robust neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, coupled with an acute inhibition of macro-autophagy (autophagy) in neurons and microglia. Rubicon (Rubcn), a Beclin1 interacting protein that suppresses autophagy and mediates LC3-associated phagocytosis and endocytosis (LAP/LANDO), influences inflammatory signaling in metabolic, neurodegenerative, and inflammaging diseases; yet its role in acquired brain injury has not been examined. Using a controlled cortical impact model, we investigated the role of Rubicon in acute neuroinflammatory responses following injury by comparing wild-type and Rubcn-mutant mice. Bulk-RNA sequencing of injured cortex revealed attenuated induction of inflammatory pathways and reduced activation of pro-inflammatory microglial/macrophage phenotype in injured Rubcn-mutant mice. Rubcn-mutant mice demonstrated less pronounced inhibition of autophagy during the acute phase of injury. Although the inflammatory differences were transient, Rubicon mutant mice exhibited improved motor coordination and gait stability during recovery. Proteomic analyses revealed the presence of a truncated Rubicon protein in the mutant mice and identified the negative regulator of reactive oxygen species (NRROS) as a novel interactor of Rubicon. Consistent with this interaction, Rubcn-mutant mice displayed markedly reduced oxidative damage, indicated by decreased lipid peroxidation after injury. Together, these findings indicate that Rubicon promotes acute neuroinflammatory and oxidative stress responses following TBI by modulating autophagy and ROS production. Rubicon-mediated pathways may serve as therapeutic targets to attenuate inflammation-mediated damage after TBI.