Caspase-1 inflammasomes: choosing between death and taxis

moonshine submitted, created time 1 year 4 months (www.nature.com)

Among the arsenal of the innate immune system are the Nod-like receptors (NLRs), which detect intracellular pathogens or other 'alarms' and participate in the formation of the inflammasome, an oligomeric platform that dimerizes and thereby activates caspase-1. The caspase, in turn, processes pro-IL1 and pro-IL18, key cytokines for the recruitment and engagement of inflammatory cells (hence, 'taxis'). But the activation of caspase-1 can also trigger a form of cell death with characteristics of necrosis and apoptosis that has been called 'pyroptosis'. Two papers in this issue (Fernandes-Alnemri et al.1 and Petrilli et al.2) address the role of K+ efflux in the control of caspase-1 activation through the regulation of oligomerization of the ASC adapter molecule.

Keywords: Caspase-1 Activation caspase-14 protein initiator caspase caspase B-cell activation innate immune system Cell death