The Inflammasomes
Mohamed Lamkanfi, Vishva M. Dixit
PLoS Pathog 5(12): e1000510. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1000510
Innate immune cells such as macrophages and dendritic cells produce potent inflammatory cytokines to mount an appropriate immune response against microbial threats. The related cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18 are generated as cytosolic precursors that require cleavage by the cysteine protease caspase-1 to generate biologically active IL-1β and IL-18. Hence, mice lacking caspase-1 are defective in the maturation and secretion of IL-1β and IL-18 [1]. Caspase-1 itself is generated as an inactive precursor protein that contains a “caspase activation and recruitment domain” (CARD) motif in its N-terminus, which is essential for bringing two or more zymogens sufficiently close to induce their autocatalytic activation, a process believed to occur in large cytosolic protein complexes termed “inflammasomes”.[…]
