title: Recognition of bacteria by inflammasomes.
abstract: Inflammasomes are cytosolic multiprotein complexes that assemble in response to a variety of infectious and noxious insults. Inflammasomes play a critical role in the initiation of innate immune responses, primarily by serving as platforms for the activation of inflammatory caspase proteases. One such caspase, CASPASE-1 (CASP1), initiates innate immune responses by cleaving pro-IL-1β and pro-IL-18, leading to their activation and release. CASP1 and another inflammatory caspase termed CASP11 can also initiate a rapid and inflammatory form of cell death termed pyroptosis. Several distinct inflammasomes have been described, each of which contains a unique sensor protein of the NLR (nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich repeat-containing) superfamily or the PYHIN (PYRIN and HIN-200 domain-containing) superfamily. Here we describe the surprisingly diverse mechanisms by which NLR/PYHIN proteins sense bacteria and initiate innate immune responses. We conclude that inflammasomes represent a highly adaptable scaffold ideally suited for detecting and initiating rapid innate responses to diverse and rapidly evolving bacteria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, Division of Immunology and Pathogenesis, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: von Moltke
authors.forename: Janelle S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Ayres
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Kofoed
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chavarría-Smith
authors.forename: Russell E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Vance
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001419:Bacteria / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D053468:CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D005407:Flagella / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D058847:Inflammasomes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D016952:Legionella pneumophila / Q000472:pathogenicity; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000472:pathogenicity; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D053468:CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D058847:Inflammasomes; C435692:NLRC4 protein, human