title: Inflammatory caspases: linking an intracellular innate immune system to autoinflammatory diseases.
abstract: Caspases not only play an essential role during apoptotic cell death, but a subfamily of them-the inflammatory caspases-are associated with immune responses to microbial pathogens. Activation of inflammatory caspases, such as caspase-1 and caspase-5, occurs upon assembly of an intracellular complex, designated the inflammasome. This results in the cleavage and activation of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1beta and IL-18. Mutations in one of the scaffold proteins of the inflammasome, NALP3/Cryopyrin, are associated with autoinflammatory disorders underscoring the importance of regulating inflammatory caspase activation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Lausanne, Chemin des Boveresses 155, CH-1066 Epalinges, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Martinon
authors.forename: Jürg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tschopp
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; D020169:Caspases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary
chemical_list: D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; D007375:Interleukin-1; D020169:Caspases