Inflammasome-mediated pyroptotic and apoptotic cell death, and defense against infection.

Inflammasome-mediated pyroptotic and apoptotic cell death, and defense against infection.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 2013 May 23;
Authors: Aachoui Y, Sagulenko V, Miao EA, Stacey KJ
Abstract
Cell death is an effective strategy to limit intracellular infections. Canonical inflammasomes, including NLRP3, NLRC4, and AIM2, recruit and activate caspase-1 in response to a range of microbial stimuli and endogenous danger signals. Caspase-1 then promotes the secretion of IL-1β and IL-18 and a rapid form of lytic programmed cell death termed pyroptosis. A second inflammatory caspase, mouse caspase-11, mediates pyroptotic death through an unknown non-canonical inflammasome system in response to cytosolic bacteria. In addition, recent work shows that inflammasomes can also recruit procaspase-8, initiating apoptosis. The induction of multiple pathways of cell death has probably evolved to counteract microbial evasion of cell death pathways.
PMID: 23707339 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Current Opinion in Microbiology - May 23, 2013 Category: Microbiology Authors: Aachoui Y, Sagulenko V, Miao EA, Stacey KJ Tags: Curr Opin Microbiol Source Type: research