Antimicrobial inflammasomes: unified signalling against diverse bacterial pathogens.

Antimicrobial inflammasomes: unified signalling against diverse bacterial pathogens.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 2014 Nov 13;23C:32-41
Authors: Eldridge MJ, Shenoy AR
Abstract
Inflammasomes - molecular platforms for caspase-1 activation - have emerged as common hubs for a number of pathways that detect and respond to bacterial pathogens. Caspase-1 activation results in the secretion of bioactive IL-1β and IL-18 and pyroptosis, and thus launches a systemic immune and inflammatory response. In this review we discuss signal transduction leading to 'canonical' and 'non-canonical' activation of caspase-1 through the involvement of upstream caspases. Recent studies have identified a growing number of regulatory networks involving guanylate binding proteins, protein kinases, ubiquitylation and necroptosis related pathways that modulate inflammasome responses and immunity to bacterial infection. By being able to respond to extracellular, vacuolar and cytosolic bacteria, their cytosolic toxins or ligands for cell surface receptors, inflammasomes have emerged as important sentinels of infection.
PMID: 25461570 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Current Opinion in Microbiology - November 13, 2014 Category: Microbiology Authors: Eldridge MJ, Shenoy AR Tags: Curr Opin Microbiol Source Type: research